WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - The United States has imposed a tough round of sanctions on Iran, alongside a naval blockade of Iranian ports.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control sanctioned nearly 60 entities, individuals, and vessels in multiple jurisdictions that enable the Iranian regime's nuclear and missile technology procurement, cyber operations, and oil-revenue generation networks.
Announcing the sanctions, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said, 'Around the globe, our objective is to sever every economic lifeline that sustains this tyrannical regime until Tehran stands alone.'
He also threatened to target countries and companies that 'facilitate transactions and are part of the ecosystem that turns Iranian oil into money, into repression.'
White House said, 'America is entering the endgame with the single greatest financial offensive ever mounted against an adversary.'
The Treasury Department said on Monday that the measures, codenamed 'Operation Economic Outcast', targets Iran's five critical sectors - digital assets, technology, gold, aviation, and shipping - that the Iranian regime uses to try to prop up its economy.
Operation Economic Outcast will sever the economic lifelines that sustain the Iranian regime and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). These actions today mark the beginning of a sustained and systematic campaign to close every financial resource that supports the leading state sponsor of terror.
Treasury said it has mapped the networks, facilitators, and financial channels that Iran uses to smuggle oil, evade sanctions, and fund terror. 'Working with our partners across the U.S. government, Treasury will be uncompromising in targeting any source of the regime's illicit revenue.'
OFAC suspended several general licenses that previously authorized certain remittance payments to Iran and Iranian access to the U.S. cultural and academic system.
OFAC issued additional guidance on the sanctions risks of yielding to Iranian demands related to shipping in the Strait of Hormuz.
The Treasury has also announced that it is significantly expanding sanctions risk for countries that continue to choose to do business with Iran.
The U.S. sanctions target a procurement scheme supporting Iran's Ministry of Defense and Armed Forces Logistics subordinates' procurement of proliferation-sensitive technology and equipment for ballistic missile development and nuclear research; A malicious cyber group directed by Iran's Ministry of Intelligence and Security that is responsible for extensive compromises of U.S. critical infrastructure and financially motivated cyber theft; and a network of brokers, companies, and shadow fleet vessels operating across the United Arab Emirates, Hong Kong, China, Singapore, Switzerland, Europe, and other regions to transport Iranian oil and channel revenue to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps-Qods Force.
Treasury is also designating several international companies that operate within Iran's petroleum sector and enable the deceptive movement and sale of Iranian crude and petroleum products.
Concurrently, the Department of State is designating seven members of Iran's defense leadership and two Iranian entities involved in enabling Iranian military strikes against U.S. forces and partners across the Middle East. It also targeted actors involved in the trade of Iranian oil, petroleum products, and petrochemical products.
OFAC is targeting a network of more than 20 entities and individuals spanning the Middle East and East Asia that financially and logistically support the Iranian regime's procurement of critical technology for nuclear research and missile development.
Iran said it is fully prepared to counter widened U.S. economic sanctions.
Iranian Economy Minister Ali Madanizadeh told state television that 'The government is and was ready and has a two-year plan to manage these events'. He added, 'We also have our own tools and know how to play the game.'
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