Iran said it will impose sanctions on 15 American companies over their alleged support for Israel and “its terrorist actions,” state news agency IRNA reported on March 26.
The decision, which is largely symbolic because the firms do not do business with Iran, comes two days after Washington announced sanctions against groups and individuals that it accuses of collaborating with Iran’s weapons program.
A Foreign Ministry statement carried by the state-run IRNA news agency said the companies are barred from any agreements with Iranian firms and that former and current directors will not be eligible for visas.
The sanctions target firms that provide arms and equipment to Israel "for use against the Palestinians,” IRNA reported.
Meanwhile, in another tit-for-tat move, a senior Iranian lawmaker said that Iran would consider a bill branding the U.S. military and the CIA as terrorist groups if the U.S. Congress passes a bill which would designate Iran’s Revolutionary Guards Corps as a terrorist organization.
Alladin Borujerdi, the head of parliament's National Security and Foreign Policy Committee, was quoted as saying on state TV that the move goes against the 2015 nuclear deal Iran reached with the United States and other world powers.