Article written by Tyler Durden, Zero Hedge
Despite a major health crisis within the White House, seeing 34 staff testing postitive for COVID-19, the “maximum pressure” gameplan for Iran still holds merit.
On Thursday, the US Treasury announced fresh sanctions on 18 more Iranian banks, according to the department’s website, in order to “stop illicit access to U.S. dollars”.
The move signals Washington’s plans to “effectively blacklist the entire Iranian financial system”.
As part of this action, OFAC sanctioned sixteen Iranian banks for operating in Iran’s financial sector and one bank for being owned or controlled by a sanctioned Iranian bank,” US Treasury announced. “Additionally, today’s action includes the designation of an Iranian military-affiliated bank under Treasury’s counter-proliferation authority.”
The names of the eighteen newly sanctioned banks include the Hekmat Iranian Bank, the key institution said to be servicing Iran’s armed forces and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
The Treasury continued by saying, “our sanctions programs will continue until Iran stops its support of terrorist activities and ends its nuclear programs,”.
It also addressed the controversy behind Washington cutting off humanitarian aid and transactions, explicitly saying the action against the banks will “continue to allow for humanitarian transactions to support the Iranian people.”
European allies have been warning that the US-led sanctions are teetering Iran on the brink of economic collapse, with the the common populace bearing the brunt of the pain, without dislodging the regime.
These fresh sanctions are in defiance of these warnings, as the Trump administration appears to make a strong policy-shift to appear “tough” on Iran before the impending election in. The Biden campaign has signaled that it would reverse much of the Trump administration’s policies.
In the case of a Biden victory this November, the 2015 nuclear deal (JCPOA) brokered under Obama will likely be restored (if Iran complies with uranium enrichment constraints, of course)
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