Friday, January 10, 2020

Trump Expands Sanctions on Iran


Sanctions, the step-by-step escalation of intervention, is a favorite policy of the warmongers. … … Sanctions are simply the coward’s and the babbler’s halfway house to war.--Murray Rothbard
The Trump administration, via the Treasury Department, has slapped another round of sanctions on Iran.

The Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control has announced that it took action against eight senior Iranian regime officials as well as the largest steel, aluminum, copper, and iron manufacturers in Iran, who collectively generate billions of dollars annually.

The Treasury’s action includes the designations of Ali Shamkhani, the Secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council; Mohammad Reza Ashtiani, the Deputy Chief of Staff of Iranian armed forces; and Gholamreza Soleimani, the head of the Basij militia of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC).

In addition, Treasury designated 17 Iranian metals producers and mining companies; a network of three China- and Seychelles-based entities; and a vessel involved in the purchase, sale, and transfer of Iranian metals products, as well as in the provision of critical metals production components to Iranian metal producers.

Concurrently with today’s designations, the President signed a new Executive Order that targets additional sources of revenue used by the Iranian regime to fund and support its nuclear program, missile development, terrorism and terrorist proxy networks, and malign regional influence.

Specifically, this E.O. authorizes the Secretary of the Treasury, in consultation with the Secretary of State, to impose sanctions against persons operating in or transacting with additional sectors of the Iranian economy, including construction, mining, manufacturing, and textiles.

“The United States is targeting senior Iranian officials for their involvement and complicity in Tuesday’s ballistic missile strikes,” said Secretary Steven T. Mnuchin. “We are also designating Iran’s largest metals manufacturers, and imposing sanctions on new sectors of the Iranian economy including construction, manufacturing, and mining. These sanctions will continue until the regime stops the funding of global terrorism and commits to never having nuclear weapons.”

-RW


4 comments:

  1. I wonder how many times you have to commit to not having nuclear weapons before you are committed to not having nuclear weapons? Interesting how Trumps favorite scapegoat, the Chinese, are involved with this round of sanctions too.
    It just boggles my mind, that anyone would think that the people of a country being sanctioned will somehow dispose their own government for it instead of the government imposing the sanctions. Were the Iraqi mothers of the 500,000 or so children who died from U.S. sanctions praying for the death of Saddam Hussein, or were they praying for the death of America, and particularly Secretary of State Halfbright.

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  2. Apparently, Iran now has some excellent guided missile technology and Israel fears they will be providing it to the Palestinians and Lebanese militias and which could completely evade their "Iron Dome" system.

    https://www.fdd.org/analysis/2019/12/19/the-new-rocket-threat-to-israel/

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  3. It's hard to keep track of all the sanctions that the US government has imposed. It would be a lot simpler if the Trump administration published a list of those with whom Americans ARE allowed to engage in trade.

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