Washington, United States. The United States on Friday announced new Iran-related sanctions following Iran’s resumption of attacks on international shipping in the Strait of Hormuz, the Treasury Department said. The measures were unveiled on a day of relative calm after a week of renewed conflict in the Gulf.
Sanctions targets
The sanctions target Ali Ansari, an Iranian banker and businessman based in Dubai, along with other individuals and entities, according to the Treasury Department. Britain had previously sanctioned Ansari for his role in financially supporting the activities of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards.
Treasury allegations
Treasury described Ansari as a “key financier” for Iran’s new leader Mojtaba Khamenei. It said he had diverted publicly funded wealth into an extensive overseas portfolio of real estate and commercial holdings to enrich himself, government elites and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).
Exchange houses targeted
Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control also targeted key Iranian exchange houses that it said moved billions of dollars annually on behalf of sanctioned Iranian banks. According to Treasury, the exchange houses used layers of shell companies to obscure the government’s illicit financial activity.
Context of renewed conflict
The new sanctions were announced after a week of renewed conflict in which three Qatari and Saudi commercial tankers came under Iranian fire. The attacks prompted the United States to strike Iranian sites, and Iran responded with strikes on US military sites in Gulf states.
