The US imposes 271 new sanctions on Syrians for chemical attack

The Trump administration Monday announced new sanctions on 271 individuals involved in Syria’s chemical weapons program. This is the largest issue of sanctions on record.  The new measures freeze assets and prevent US entities from doing business with 271 employees of a Syrian government agency tasked with producing non-conventional weapons. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said the measures show “we will not tolerate the use of chemical weapons by any action and we intend to hold the Assad regime accountable for its unacceptable behavior.” Less than a month ago, the US fired 59 cruise missiles on a Syrian airfield in retaliation for a chemical attack on Syrian civilians.