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US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin: No "unlawful access to US dollars" for Iran
Photo: Kevin Lamarque / REUTERS
With sanctions against 18 major Iranian banks, the US has increased the pressure on Iran.
The move should prevent the Iranian government from "gaining unlawful access to US dollars," said Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin.
The new measures could practically cut off the country, which has been hard hit by the corona crisis, from the international financial system.
The US government did not disclose what the banks are specifically charged with.
A statement only said that the entire Iranian banking sector would be used to support the controversial Iranian nuclear program and Tehran's "vicious regional influence".
"Our sanctions program will not stop until Iran gives up its support for terrorist activities and ends its nuclear program," said Mnuchin.
Transactions for humanitarian goods such as food and medicine are exempt from the sanctions against the banks.
Iran: sanctions a "crime against humanity"
However, the punitive measures should only come into force in 45 days - after the US presidential election.
The challenger to incumbent Donald Trump, Joe Biden, had announced during the election campaign that he would again focus more on diplomacy in the conflict with Iran.
Trump, on the other hand, is pursuing a strategy of "maximum pressure" on Tehran.
In order to prevent Iranian oil exports, the US is also threatening third countries with sanctions that want to buy Iranian oil.
The Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif sharply criticized the sanctions and spoke of a "crime against humanity".
"In the middle of the Covid-19 pandemic, the US government wants to blow up our remaining channels for paying for food and medicine," he wrote on Twitter.
The US government had already issued sanctions against Iran in September.
These relate to Iranian nuclear and armaments activities and are directed against two dozen organizations and individuals.
They were a reaction to the failure of the United States in the UN Security Council to demand an extension of an arms embargo against Iran.
The embargo expires on October 18.
Pompeo called on the remaining parties to the nuclear deal with Iran, including the United Kingdom, France and Germany, to reinstate sanctions.
Relations between the United States and Iran have deteriorated dramatically since US President Donald Trump took office in early 2017.
Trump regularly describes Iran as the main source of violence and instability in the Middle East.
In May 2018, the US president unilaterally terminated the international nuclear agreement.
As a result, his government imposed massive sanctions on the country.
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jak / afp / dpa