President Donald Trump on Monday signed an executive order putting in place what he called "hard-hitting" new sanctions on Iran.
"We will continue to increase pressure on Tehran,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office, adding that the announcement "follows a series of aggressive behaviors by the Iranian regime in recent weeks" — including the downing of a U.S. drone.
"The Supreme Leader of Iran is one who ultimately is responsible for the hostile conduct of the regime," Trump said.
The new sanctions, Trump said, will deny Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and other top leaders within the regime access to "key financial resources and support."  Trump had said Friday that he had been "cocked and loaded" to retaliate by striking Iranian targets but deemed that the loss of life would be disproportionate to the downing of an unmanned U.S. drone.
Trump said Monday that the sanctions were a "strong and proportionate response" to Iran’s actions and promised to "continue to increase pressure on Tehran until the regime abandons its dangerous activities and its aspirations, including the pursuit of nuclear weapons."
But, he added, the U.S. does "not seek conflict with Iran" and that he looks "forward to discussing whatever I have to discuss with anybody that wants to speak."
The drone strike and the aborted decision to strike Iranian targets followed weeks of rising tension and attacks on two oil tankers in the Gulf last week. The developments are underpinned by a deep mutual mistrust between the nations, as well as U.S. criticism of Iran's nuclear and ballistic missile activities and support for proxies in various Middle East conflicts.
Earlier Monday, Iran said it could shoot down another U.S. drone if necessary.
"Everyone saw the downing of the unmanned drone," Iran's navy commander, Rear Admiral Hossein Khanzadi, told the Tasnim news agency, according to a translation by Reuters. "I can assure you that this firm response can be repeated, and the enemy knows it." Brian Hook, the U.S. special representative for Iran, revealed Monday that Washington is hoping to start an international "new initiative to enhance maritime security," following several attacks on tankers in the Gulf of Oman that Washington blames on Tehran. Iran has denied any involvement in the incidents.
Hook was speaking on a call with reporters from Muscat, Oman, the fourth stop on his Middle East tour. He did not provide details of the proposed scheme but said the G-20 summit this week in Osaka, Japan, would be the perfect forum in which to discuss the idea further.
The U.S. says it wants to re-enter negotiations with Iran. But an adviser to the Iranian president said his country would not do so unless the U.S. lifts sanctions, which were reimposed by Trump after he withdrew from the landmark nuclear deal signed under the administration of President Barack Obama in 2015.
Iran was complying with the deal's terms, which limited its nuclear activities in return for lifting international sanctions. Trump has always hated the deal, saying it did not properly address Iran's growing influence in the region and ballistic missiles program.
On Monday, Hesameddin Ashena, an adviser to President Hassan Rouhani, tweeted that if the U.S. expects Iran to go beyond its terms of this deal, Washington, too, must offer concessions of its own.