US planning to impose additional sanctions against Iran

A day after the Trump administration put Iran "on notice" for its "destabilising behaviour" in the region, multiple media reports said the US is planning to impose sanctions against Tehran.

The reports quoting unnamed senior administration officials came amid an increasing demand in this regard from US Senators even as the Trump administration called a meeting of the UN Security Council on Iran's ballistic missile tests.

According to the Wall Street Journal, the White House is expected to impose fresh sanctions on dozens of Iranian entities for their alleged role in missile development and terrorism related activities.

The daily said Trump's National Security Council has drafted a list of around 25 Iranian entities that will be targeted, those people said. Trump is expected to sign executive orders authorising the penalties, the daily said.

The White House did not confirm the authenticity of the reports.

Meanwhile, a bipartisan group of senators wrote a letter to Trump and said, "Iranian leaders must feel sufficient pressure to cease deeply destabilizing activities, from sponsoring terrorist groups to continued testing of ballistic missiles."

"Full enforcement of existing sanctions and the imposition of additional sanctions on Iran for its ballistic missile program are necessary," the letter said.

Iran, on the other hand, has vowed to continue its missile activity after dismissing U.S. President Donald Trump's declaration of putting Tehran "on notice" as it test-fired a ballistic missile on Sunday.

The Islamic-country has sworn that it will not bow to threats from the United States.

US National Security Advisor Michael Flynn on Wednesday had claimed that Sunday's test was a "provocative" breach of a UN Security Council resolution, following which Trump tweeted Thursday saying, "Iran has been formally PUT ON NOTICE" and should have been "thankful" for the "terrible deal."

Speaking to reporters in Tehran on Thursday, the top official, Ali Akbar Velayati, dismissed the US President's "baseless ranting" and said that even Americans were not satisfied with "Trump's extremism," according to Iran's semi-official Fars News Agency.

Asserting that all test-fired missiles were defensive, he added that Iran did not need to seek permission to carry out such activities.

--With inputs from agencies