Islamic Republic of Iran

Following the escalation on Friday morning, in which the US Treasury Department published a list of 13 Iranian individuals and 12 Iranian entities facing new restrictions following Iran's recent ballistic missile test, Tehran promptly denounced the latest round of sanctions imposed by the US and said it would retaliate - something it has previously said it would do - however added a new twist when Tehran announced it would impose legal restrictions on American individuals and entities helping "regional terrorist groups", a Foreign Ministry statement read as quoted by TV.

In an unexpected reversal, President Obama declined to sign a renewal of existing sanctions against Iran but let it become law anyway, in an apparent bid to alleviate Tehran’s concerns that the U.S. is backsliding on the nuclear agreement. The White House press secretary Josh Earnest said Obama had decided to let it become law without his signature. Press TV reports: The US Senate passed a 10-year extension of the Iran Sanctions Act (ISA) on December 1, sending the measure to the White House for Obama to sign into law.

A furious Iran threatened to retaliate early Friday against a U.S. Senate vote to extend the Iran Sanctions Act (ISA) for 10 years, saying it violated last year's deal with six major powers that curbed its nuclear program.  The ISA was first adopted in 1996 to punish investments in Iran's energy industry and deter its alleged pursuit of nuclear weapons; it was due to expire on Dec. 31. Lawmakers said the extension would make it easier for sanctions to be reimposed if Iran violated the nuclear settlement. The extension was passed unanimously on Thursday.

Hillary Clinton has called for new sanctions against Iran over their recent test-firing of ballistic missiles. On Tuesday Iran test fired several long range ballistic missiles as part of an ongoing military drill in different parts of the country.