New executive order expands Trump administration's ability to sanction terrorists

Sept. 10 (UPI) -- The Trump administration on Tuesday unveiled an executive order allowing the government to place sanctions on individual terrorists without specifying their actions.

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin announced the expansion of counterterrorism measures during a briefing with reporters that was initially supposed to include national security adviser Michael Bolton. President Donald Trump announced Bolton's resignation hours before the briefing.

"Foreign financial institutions are now on notice that they risk sanctions if they knowingly conduct or facilitate any significant transactions with designated terrorists and terrorist enablers," Trump said in a statement.

The announcement was an update of a previous order to allow the administration to target individuals involved in terror training and place sanctions on financial organizations that knowingly conduct business with terrorists.

The order "greatly enhances our ability to identify, sanction and deter perpetrators of terrorism worldwide," Mnuchin said. "The government has taken more action than we ever have before."

In conjunction with the order, the Trump administration sanctioned more than two dozen individuals and entities from 11 terror groups, including Iran's Qods Forces, Hamas, the Islamic State, and al-Qaida.