Treasury Dept. imposes sanctions on Iran Central Bank governor
Tuesday, The U.S. Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) imposed sanctions on multiple entities labeled as terrorists, "all of whom have moved millions of dollars on behalf of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps-Qods Force (IRGC-QF) to Hizballah."
According to a release from the Treasury Department, OFAC targeted the governor and a senior official of the Central Bank of Iran, an Iraq-based bank and its chairman, and a Hizballah official. OFAC considers these individuals and entities as either terrorist actors or supporters of terrorism, categorizing them as specially designated global terrorists (SDGTs) .
"Iran's Central Bank Governor covertly funneled millions of dollars on behalf of the IRGC-QF through Iraq-based al-Bilad Islamic Bank to enrich and support the violent and radical agenda of Hizballah," Treasury Secretary Steven T. Mnuchin said in a statement.
With this, the Treasury Department is trying to clamp down on Iran's ability "to abuse the U.S. and regional financial systems." Its actions are intended to build on President Trump's decision to withdraw the United States from the Iran Nuclear Deal (the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action).
Since leaving the deal, the Trump administration's plan has been to reimpose the sanctions lifted under the deal while also imposing secondary sanctions against countries that choose to trade with Iran.
"The United States will not permit Iran's increasingly brazen abuse of the international financial system. The global community must remain vigilant against Iran's deceptive efforts to provide financial support to its terrorist proxies," Mnuchin said.
