The White House imposed new sanctions on Iran even as the Trump administration appeared to step back from its threat of military action in response to Tehran’s ongoing crackdown on Iranian protestors, according to The Wall Street Journal.

At the top of the Treasury Department’s new sanctions list is Ali Larijani, identified as the head of Iran’s national security council and a close ally of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. Treasury accused Larijani of coordinating the crackdown, which human-rights groups estimate has resulted in the deaths of more than 2,600 Iranians to date, the Journal reported. 

The sanctions also target a slate of other officials, including commanders in Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and senior police leaders, the newspaper reported.

“At the direction of President Trump, the Treasury Department is sanctioning key Iranian leaders involved in the brutal crackdown against the Iranian people,” Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in a statement. 

Beyond the crackdown, Treasury also moved against entities it says help launder proceeds from Iranian oil sales through a “shadow banking” network. 

The targets include companies based in the United Arab Emirates that allegedly operate as fronts for Iran’s oil trade, according to the Journal, which previously reported that Iran has used the UAE to move funds, evade sanctions, and finance proxies, including Hezbollah. 

Trump has also threatened broader economic consequences for Iran’s trading partners. On Monday, he said the U.S. would impose a 25% tariff on countries that continue doing business with Iran, a warning Bessent reiterated in a video statement accompanying Thursday’s sanctions, the Journal said. 

Read more at The Wall Street Journal