U.S. slaps new sanctions against Iran over missile tests

After certifying Iran's compliance with a major nuclear agreement reached two years ago, The Trump administration has announced new sanctions against those with ties to Iran.

"The United States remains deeply concerned about Iran's malign activities across the Middle East which undermine regional stability, security and prosperity," State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert said in a statement.

She also noted Iran's support for US-designated terrorist groups, militias and Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, as well as domestic human rights concerns, reports CNN.

Nauert further slammed Iran for continuing to develop its ballistic missile program, which is considered as a violation of UN Security Council resolutions by the United States and other countries as well.

On Monday, the U.S. Government announced that it would certify that Iran was abiding by the terms -- but not the "spirit" -- of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), an agreement reached in 2015 between Iran, the US and five other world powers under which Iran agreed to roll back its nuclear program in exchange for some sanctions relief.

On Monday, Iran Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif tore into the U.S. sanctions policy at a New York think tank event.

"I think people in Washington should get it through their minds that sanctions are a liability, not an asset," he said, adding that a separate set of sanctions under consideration by the US Congress would be a violation of the JCPOA.