Iranian citizens’ leaderless protests started by taking aim at high living costs and unemployment but quickly grew into shows of dissatisfaction with Iran’s Middle East policy and the country’s religious leadership. “Iran’s domestic affairs have nothing to do with the United Nations Security Council’s role,” Rybakov said. US President Trump signed an executive order on Thursday sanctioning five Iran-based entities the US said helped develop the Iranian ballistic missile program. “These sanctions target key entities involved in Iran’s ballistic missile program, which the Iranian regime prioritizes over the economic well-being of the Iranian people,” Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said. The United States “will not hesitate to call out the regime’s economic mismanagement, and diversion of significant resources to fund threatening missile systems at the expense of its citizenry,” he said.

Source: Egypt Independent January 05, 2018 06:56 UTC