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Trump's Options Limited in Slapping Iran With New 'Punishing' Sanctions

Masood Farivar

   U.S. President Donald Trump announced on Wednesday that the United
   States would immediately impose "punishing" additional sanctions on
   Iran, a day after Iran fired missiles on two Iraqi bases with American
   personnel in retaliation for the U.S. killing of top Iranian general
   Qassem Soleimani.
   "These sanctions will remain until Iran changes its behavior," Trump
   said during a televised speech from the White House.
   But with Iran already under a crippling sanctions regime that costs it
   billions of dollars a year, the question is, what additional penalties
   can the administration impose on Tehran?
   "Well, that's a very good question because every sector of the Iranian
   economy is very thoroughly sanctioned right now," said Kenneth Katzman,
   the lead Iran analyst at the nonpartisan Congressional Research
   Service. "So I think experts including myself are wondering what more
   can be done, because really there is not a lot of ground to plow beyond
   what's already been done."

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