The new sanctions against Iran may impact Iran’s ballistic missile program or human rights sphere, according to congressional sources, the Financial Times newspaper reported.
"They are already looking closely at their options — and that very much includes non-nuclear sanctions," a congressional official familiar with the matter said, as quoted by the newspaper.
On Thursday, the US Senate voted unanimously to prolong the 1979 sanctions against Tehran by another 10 years after they expire later this month. The extension was endorsed by the lower chamber of the parliament last month and would now go before President Barack Obama, who is expected to sign it before he leaves office next year.
In July 2015, Iran and the P5+1 group of nations – the United States, the United Kingdom, France, China and Russia, plus Germany – agreed on a gradual lifting of sanctions in exchange for Tehran keeping its nuclear program exclusively for peaceful uses. The agreement took effect on January 16, after the International Atomic Energy Agency officially confirmed Iran’s compliance with the deal’s provisions.
During the 2016 presidential election, Trump was very critical of the Iran nuclear agreement, characterizing it as one of the worst in history.
