US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said here that the new executive order signed by US President Donald Trump earlier today, which includes tough sanctions on Iran, would freeze billions of dollars of Iranian assets, thus further mounting pressure on Iran. He stressed, during a press conference, that the new US sanctions focused on depriving Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei of financial means, and that the fresh sanctions will reach the Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Jawad Zarif, too, later this week, as well as eight senior commanders of the Iranian paramilitary Revolutionary Guard. Mnuchin said the executive order was being prepared before Iran dropped the US military aircraft last week, nonetheless, it was in response to the attack as well as previous Iranian actions, in the Arabian Gulf region.
