U.S. slaps new sanctions on Iran
Worldwide ban imposed on banking officials
WASHINGTON — The United States intensified its financial pressure on Iran Tuesday, slapping anti-terror sanctions on the head of its central bank and barring anyone around the world from doing business with him. That dealt a further blow to European hopes of salvaging the Iranian nuclear deal in the wake of President Donald Trump’s withdrawal.
Valiollah Seif, the governor of the Iranian central bank, was named a “specially designated global terrorist” along with another senior official, Ali Tarzali, who works in the central bank’s international division. The Treasury Department accused the men of secretly funneling millions of dollars through an Iraqi bank to help Hezbollah, the militant network that the U.S. considers a terrorist group.
Although the sanctions do not technically extend to the central bank itself, they could significantly increase Iran’s isolation from the global financial system.
“The United States will not permit Iran’s increasingly brazen abuse of the international financial system,” Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said. “The global community must remain vigilant against Iran’s deceptive efforts to provide financial support to its terrorist proxies.”
Typically, when the U.S. punishes individuals with sanctions, it prohibits Americans or U.S. companies from doing business with them. In this case, the U.S. chose to also impose “secondary sanctions,” which also apply to non-americans and non-u.s. companies.
The latest move comes as Trump’s administration, deeming the 2015 nuclear accord insufficiently tough on Iran, seeks to construct a global coalition to place enough pressure on Tehran that it comes back to the negotiating table.
The new sanctions on central bank officials appear designed to strengthen Trump’s hand, creating another avenue by which anyone doing business in Iran could risk being cut off from New York, the beating heart of the global financial system.