The Obama Administration is preparing a fresh set of sanctions against individuals and companies for their alleged role in the development of Iran’s ballistic missile programme, according to a media report.

The expected sanctions by US treasury department against individuals and companies in Iran, Hong Kong and United Arab Emirates would be the first set of sanctions against Iran after the historic nuclear deal it reached with Tehran on the latter’s nuclear weapons programme.

“The planned action by the treasury department... Is directed at nearly a dozen companies and individuals in Iran, Hong Kong and the United Arab Emirates for their alleged role in developing Iran’s ballistic-missile programme,” the Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday.

The treasury department is preparing sanctions on two Iran-linked networks helping develop the missile programme. Under the planned restrictions, US or foreign nationals would be barred from doing business with the firms and people in the networks. US banks would also freeze any US-held assets, it said.

The Journal quoted US officials as saying that the treasury department maintains the right to sanction Iranian entities allegedly involved in missile development, or those that support rights abuses or international terrorism.

Meanwhile, Iran’s Revolutionary Guards on Thursday denied that its naval forces had test-fired rockets close to a US aircraft carrier in the strategically important Strait of Hormuz. The Guards naval unit is responsible for securing Iranian interests in the Strait, a vital waterway for a large proportion of the world’s oil, regularly patrolling the area and conducting exercises.