The White House has delayed imposing a new set of fiscal sanctions on Iran for fears the move could jeopardise a hard-won nuclear deal due to be finally implemented within weeks, the Wall Street Journal reported Friday.
It was widely reported that the US Treasury planned to blacklist companies and individuals with ties to Iran's ballistic missile program.
On Thursday Iran's President Hassan Rouhani denounced possible new US sanctions on his country, saying such course of action constituted "hostile and illegal interventions" that justified a response.
His comments came as relations worsened days after US officials said an Iranian vessel had test-fired several rockets near three Western warships, including the USS Harry S Truman aircraft carrier, in the strategic Strait of Hormuz.