TEHRAN, Iran — Only one day after the Jan. 16 announcement of the implementation of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, the US Treasury unveiled new missile-related sanctions on Iran. The reason? Iran’s testing of its medium-range Emad ballistic missile in October.
Following the new sanctions, Maj. Gen. Mohsen Rezaei, one of Iran’s highest-ranking military officials, penned a letter to President Hassan Rouhani in which he wrote, “Just as Iran’s success in developing 20,000 centrifuges was a slap in the face of the United States and forced the Americans to come to the negotiating table and recognize our right to enrich uranium, I am hoping that with your support, the range of Iran's missiles will exceed 5,000 kilometers [3,106 miles].”