U.S. IMPOSES ADDITIONAL SANCTIONS ON IRAN BANKS

The Trump administration on Thursday imposed a new round of economic sanctions against Iran’s financial sector, as Washington seeks to increase pressure on Tehran in the weeks leading up to the presidential election.

The measure imposes penalties against 18 Iranian banks and comes days before a U.N. arms embargo on the country is set to expire. The action could effectively lock Iran out of the global financial system, further cratering its already collapsing economy.

It was the United States’ latest round of sanctions against Iran after the Trump administration’s attempt last month to unilaterally restore international economic penalties that much of the rest of the world has refused to enforce.

Critics said the new sanctions were unlikely to achieve the Trump administration’s goal of forcing Iran back into negotiations — both to limit its nuclear program and to end its hostilities across the Middle East — and would further distance the U.S. from key European allies.

“Our maximum economic pressure campaign will continue until Iran is willing to conclude a comprehensive negotiation that addresses the regime’s malign behavior,” Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said in a statement. “Our sanctions are directed at the regime and its corrupt officials that have used the wealth of the Iranian people to fuel a radical, revolutionary cause that has brought untold suffering across the Middle East and beyond.”

Last month, the Trump administration said it was reimposing U.N. sanctions against Iran, in part to keep a global arms embargo in place beyond its expiration date of Oct. 18.