President Obama on Oct. 9 issued an Executive Order to implement key sanctions included in the Iran Threat Reduction and Syria Human Rights Act of 2012 (ITRSHRA), which he signed into law in August.

The order implemented the requirement for U.S. companies to terminate the business of their foreign subsidiaries in Iran and imposed sanctions on foreign entities providing Iran the means to commit human rights abuses or carry out censorship activities.

In addition, the order enables various U.S. agencies to penalize any entity that attempts or succeeds in evading the sanctions.

National Security Council spokesman Tommy Vietor described Obama’s action as “part of our comprehensive sanctions effort to apply pressure on the Iranian government to meet its international obligations with regard to its nuclear program.”

Vietor added that as long as Iran keeps ignoring calls from the international community, the regime in Tehran can expect that “the United States and our partners will continue to tighten our sanctions and impose increasing consequences.”