Trump Administration Taking a Hard Line Against Iran

The Trump administration is taking significant steps to target a full range of Iranian military aggression and human rights abuses, functionally reversing the Obama administration's near-total prioritization of the 2015 nuclear deal, according to discussions conducted by THE WEEKLY STANDARD with sources inside and outside the White House.

The administration this month announced sanctions on seven Iranian and Chinese entities linked to Iran's ballistic missile program, imposed other penalties on persons linked to the Iran-backed Bashar al-Assad regime, and published a State Department report detailing Iranian human rights violations. Those measures coincide with a Treasury Department review of licenses for the sale of commercial aircraft to Iran. Experts and lawmakers charge that Iran regularly uses civilian aircraft to ferry weapons and troops to Syria .

"We will use everything within our power to put additional sanctions on Iran, Syria and North Korea to protect American lives," Treasury secretary Steve Mnuchin told lawmakers Wednesday. "Both in the case of Boeing and Airbus, there are licenses that will be required and they are under review."

House Foreign Affairs Committee chairman Ed Royce said the administration's willingness to crack down on illicit Iranian activity is a welcome change.

"The Trump administration is right to do what President Obama did not: press Iran for its illicit ballistic missile program, support for terrorism, and human rights violations," he told TWS.