Black_cats
ELITE MEMBER
- Joined
- Dec 31, 2010
- Messages
- 10,031
- Reaction score
- -5
With Iranian oil already sanctioned, US punishes what's left
By Donna Borak and Betsy Klein, CNN
Updated 12:40 PM EST, Fri January 10, 2020
(CNN)The Trump administration is imposing new sanctions on Iran following attacks on US and allied troops in Iraq earlier this week, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin announced Friday.
"The President is issuing an executive order authorizing the imposition of additional sanctions against any individual owning, operating, trading with, or assisting sectors of the Iranian economy including construction, manufacturing, textiles, and mining," Mnuchin told reporters at the White House.
President Donald Trump on Wednesday previewed the new sanctions -- an economic step that came amid a broader military de-escalation following the January 3 targeted killing by the US of top Iranian General Qasem Soleimani.
The US has been working to further isolate Iran in the hopes that it will return to the bargaining table to renegotiate a 2015 international agreement aimed at limiting its nuclear program, a key piece of President Barack Obama's legacy. Trump withdrew from the deal in 2018 and instead has since looked to impose increasing economic pressure with sanctions on Iranian oil -- leaving Trump with relatively little left to penalize now.
Late last year, the administration targeted Iran's largest shipping company and a major airline for their roles in transporting material for the country's ballistic missile and nuclear programs.
That followed sanctions imposed in September by the US on a sprawling shipping network that Iran uses to sell oil along with a $15 million reward to anyone with information that would disrupt the scheme.
The shipping network, led by Rostam Ghasemi, Iran's foreign minister of petroleum, has been known to send money to Hezbollah and to the Syrian government run by President Bashar al-Assad. The Treasury Department at the time also placed sanctions on 26 individuals and entities tied to the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps Quds Force, which the US claims had shipped roughly $500 million worth of Iranian oil.
The US also announced a round of sanctions against Iran's national bank later in September following an attack on Saudi oil fields.
In late June, new sanctions were imposed on Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the Supreme Leader of Iran, and his office to block access to the international finance system. A few weeks later, the administration also added Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, Iran's foreign minister and its top negotiator on the nuclear deal, to the sanctions list.
Mnuchin noted that the sanctions on metals and other industries would be both primary and secondary sanctions and that the executive order allows the US to designate other sectors in the future.
Additionally, the US is announcing 17 specific sanctions against Iran's largest steel and iron manufacturers, three Seychelles-based entities, and a vessel involved in the transfer of products. The actions, the administration says, will "cut off billions of support to the Iranian regime."
The administration is also sanctioning eight senior Iranian officials who were involved in Tuesday's strike, Mnuchin said.
The moves, Mnuchin said, are "part of our commitment to stop the Iranian regime's global terrorist activities," noting that the sanctions will be in effect "until Iran stops its terrorist activities and commit to never having a nuclear weapon."
https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.cn...politics/us-sanctions-iran-mnuchin/index.html
By Donna Borak and Betsy Klein, CNN
Updated 12:40 PM EST, Fri January 10, 2020
(CNN)The Trump administration is imposing new sanctions on Iran following attacks on US and allied troops in Iraq earlier this week, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin announced Friday.
"The President is issuing an executive order authorizing the imposition of additional sanctions against any individual owning, operating, trading with, or assisting sectors of the Iranian economy including construction, manufacturing, textiles, and mining," Mnuchin told reporters at the White House.
President Donald Trump on Wednesday previewed the new sanctions -- an economic step that came amid a broader military de-escalation following the January 3 targeted killing by the US of top Iranian General Qasem Soleimani.
The US has been working to further isolate Iran in the hopes that it will return to the bargaining table to renegotiate a 2015 international agreement aimed at limiting its nuclear program, a key piece of President Barack Obama's legacy. Trump withdrew from the deal in 2018 and instead has since looked to impose increasing economic pressure with sanctions on Iranian oil -- leaving Trump with relatively little left to penalize now.
Late last year, the administration targeted Iran's largest shipping company and a major airline for their roles in transporting material for the country's ballistic missile and nuclear programs.
That followed sanctions imposed in September by the US on a sprawling shipping network that Iran uses to sell oil along with a $15 million reward to anyone with information that would disrupt the scheme.
The shipping network, led by Rostam Ghasemi, Iran's foreign minister of petroleum, has been known to send money to Hezbollah and to the Syrian government run by President Bashar al-Assad. The Treasury Department at the time also placed sanctions on 26 individuals and entities tied to the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps Quds Force, which the US claims had shipped roughly $500 million worth of Iranian oil.
The US also announced a round of sanctions against Iran's national bank later in September following an attack on Saudi oil fields.
In late June, new sanctions were imposed on Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the Supreme Leader of Iran, and his office to block access to the international finance system. A few weeks later, the administration also added Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, Iran's foreign minister and its top negotiator on the nuclear deal, to the sanctions list.
Mnuchin noted that the sanctions on metals and other industries would be both primary and secondary sanctions and that the executive order allows the US to designate other sectors in the future.
Additionally, the US is announcing 17 specific sanctions against Iran's largest steel and iron manufacturers, three Seychelles-based entities, and a vessel involved in the transfer of products. The actions, the administration says, will "cut off billions of support to the Iranian regime."
The administration is also sanctioning eight senior Iranian officials who were involved in Tuesday's strike, Mnuchin said.
The moves, Mnuchin said, are "part of our commitment to stop the Iranian regime's global terrorist activities," noting that the sanctions will be in effect "until Iran stops its terrorist activities and commit to never having a nuclear weapon."
https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.cn...politics/us-sanctions-iran-mnuchin/index.html
