Washington DC [US], October 16 (ANI): The United States has announced new Iran-related sanctions targeting 16 individuals and 10 entities, with the US Treasury Department saying the measures aim to disrupt Tehran’s alleged international financial networks, shadow banking operations and channels used to finance its military and regional proxy groups.
The sanctions were announced on Thursday (local time) as Washington continues to tighten economic pressure on Tehran amid a continuing standoff between the two countries and disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz.
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the administration would continue targeting Iran’s financial lifelines until the country’s leadership could no longer use them to sustain its activities.
In a post on X, Bessent said, “The noose is tightening around Iran’s economy, and not even Iran’s so-called allies can save it. The Department of the Treasury will not relent until the Iranian regime’s coffers are empty and every remaining financial lifeline sustaining its war machine has been severed.”
https://x.com/SecScottBessent/status/2110805394012405972
In another post on X, the US Treasury Department said the latest action, carried out under Operation Economic Outcast, targeted Iran’s alleged efforts to access the international financial system through an Iraqi bank that it alleged also supported Iranian-backed militia groups.
https://x.com/USTreasury/status/2110805296662614448
“By dismantling these institutions–including offshore banks and shadow financiers that have moved hundreds of millions of dollars through shell companies and foreign-exchange specialists across the Middle East and Asia–Treasury is severing critical revenue streams that sustain Iran’s military and proxy forces,” the department said.
According to the Treasury Department’s press release issued on Thursday (local time), the measures target financial institutions, offshore banks, oil intermediaries and foreign-exchange networks allegedly involved in helping Iran evade sanctions and transfer funds internationally.
The department said the action was being taken under Executive Order 13902, which targets certain sectors of the Iranian economy, including the financial and petroleum sectors.
Among the entities targeted is Iraq-based International Development Bank for Investment and Finance (IDB), which the Treasury Department accused of providing financial facilitation services and US dollar access to Iran. The department alleged that the bank maintained links with Iranian government entities and Iran-aligned militia groups in Iraq.
The sanctions also target Iran-based Jazireh International Bank Company and Chabahar International Bank Overseas Company, described by the Treasury Department as offshore banks affiliated with Bank Mellat and Bank Shahr, respectively.
The department further identified Iranian national Sayyed Ruhollah Razavi as an oil intermediary who allegedly helped sell Iranian oil and repatriate the proceeds through clandestine banking networks. It said he had previously facilitated overseas shipments of millions of barrels of oil each month on behalf of the National Iranian Oil Company and its subsidiary, Naftiran Intertrade Company.
Razavi and two Iranian companies associated with him, Tejarat Gostar Atlas Parsian Kish Company and Farzanegan Energy Pars Company, are among those targeted under the latest measures.
The Treasury Department also announced sanctions against seven employees of Farab Sorough Qeshm Company, an affiliate of Iran’s Shahr Bank, alleging that they coordinated foreign-exchange transactions linked to Iranian oil sales companies and brokers through shell companies in Hong Kong and the United Arab Emirates.
Several exchange houses, financial intermediaries and individuals allegedly involved in processing payments for Iranian financial institutions and shadow banking networks were also designated.
Separately, the US Department of State is designating Cuba-based Banco Internacional de Comercio S.A. (BICSA) under Executive Order 14404 for operating in or having operated in Cuba’s financial services sector. The Treasury Department alleged that BICSA had provided services to Iran-based Karafarin Bank since at least 2022.
The latest measures form part of Operation Economic Outcast, announced by Bessent on August 24. The initiative seeks to identify and disrupt the networks Iran allegedly uses to generate revenue, evade sanctions and transfer funds abroad.
The Treasury Department alleged that Iran relies on multi-jurisdictional shadow banking networks to launder money, procure weapons, access US dollar correspondent banking relationships and finance regional proxy groups.
It also warned that entities facilitating money laundering or sanctions evasion on behalf of Iran risk losing access to the US financial system, adding that the operation would expand sanctions exposure for those continuing to do business with the Iranian regime. (ANI)
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