U.S. Treasury says it will continue sanctions against Russia and Iran
The head of the U.S. Department of the Treasury, Steven Mnuchin, assured lawmakers at hearings in the Senate that the ministry under his auspices will continue implementing programs to impose sanctions against Russia and Iran, as reported on the Department of the Treasury’s website.
The hearings, about the department’s budget for the 2019 fiscal year, were held in the Appropriations Committee. “Budgetary funds will also be used in harmony with the Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act, including the financing of our programs in Russia and Iran, as well to combat illegal financial networks,” explained the minister. “We have requested additional funds from the Office of Terrorism and Financial Intelligence to fight financial crimes,” Mnuchin added.
On April 6, the U.S. Department of the Treasury introduced new sanctions against Russian businessmen, officials and companies.
On May 8, the U.S. State Department extended the sanctions against Rosoboronexport (Russian state-owned arms exporter) because of its cooperation with Iran, North Korea and Syria. The company has been under sanctions since 2015. In mid-May, U.S. Deputy Secretary of the Treasury Sigal Mandelker said that Washington was ready to impose new economic sanctions against Russia, which would be a response to Moscow’s “malicious actions.” Speaking about Iran, Mandelker called Teheran a sponsor of terrorism, and said that those who do business with it “will be punished.” On May 21, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo listed 12 “basic requirements” for Iran that should be included in the new nuclear agreement. If the requirements are not met, Pompeo threatened Iran with the worse sanctions in its history.