US Imposes Sanctions on Entire Iranian Construction Sector

By Staff, Agencies

In yet another act of economic terrorism, the US imposed new sanctions on Iran, targeting the construction sector, despite Washington's announcement a week ago that it had created a new mechanism to facilitate "permissible trade" with Tehran.

The US State Department issued a fact sheet Thursday, singling out the sale of software used for industrial purposes, raw and semi-finished metals, graphite and coal used in Iran's construction sector as targets for the new sanctions.

The State Department claimed Secretary of State Mike Pompeo had determined Iran's construction sector was controlled directly or indirectly by Iran's Islamic Revolution Guard Corps [IRGC].

The US has previously imposed sanctions on a number of Iranian business companies and networks on the pretext of being tied to the IRGC after blacklisting it as a "terrorist" organization earlier this year. The IRGC is an official branch of the Iranian armed forces.

Also on Thursday, the State Department announced a separate batch of sanctions against what it described as the sale of "strategic material" being used "in connection with Iran’s nuclear, military, or ballistic missile programs."

The State Department listed the sanctioned material as "stainless steel 304L tubes, MN40 manganese brazing foil, MN70 manganese brazing foil, and stainless steel CrNi60WTi ESR + VAR."