WASHINGTON _ President Donald Trump tweeted Wednesday that he has asked the U.S. Treasury to "substantially increase" sanctions on Iran.
The president did not go into further detail.
The move is the latest escalation after Iran warned the U.S. that it would retaliate "immediately" if Tehran is targeted over a weekend attack on Saudi oil installations, according to the Associated Press.
Trump said Monday that it appears Iran was behind air attacks on two major Saudi Arabian oil facilities. He emphasized then that he wanted to avoid a new Middle East war even as he stressed that the U.S. military is ready for action.
Iran denied responsibility for the attacks and ruled out a potential meeting between Trump and Iran's president, Hassan Rouhani, on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly next week in New York, closing off a potential high-level outlet to resolve the crisis.
(L.A. Times staff writer Chris Megerian contributed to this report.)
