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US Increases 'Maximum Pressure' on Iran

Jeff Seldin

   The United States is turning up its "maximum pressure" campaign on
   Iran, slapping fresh sanctions on 20 companies and individuals for
   bolstering Iranian-backed militias in Iraq and elsewhere.

   The U.S. Treasury Department unveiled the latest round of sanctions
   Thursday, accusing the companies and individuals of acting as part of a
   front for Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps-Quds Force.

   Officials said the network has helped transfer "lethal aid" to two
   Iranian-backed militias in Iraq, Kataib Hezbollah and Asa'ib Ahl
   al-Haq, while also smuggling weapons to Iranian-backed Houthi rebels in
   Yemen.

   The companies and individuals also are alleged to have engaged in money
   laundering, illicit oil sales to Syria and a widespread intimidation
   campaign designed to bully Iraqi politicians into supporting policies
   favorable to Iran.

   "Iran employs a web of front companies to fund terrorist groups across
   the region, siphoning resources away from the Iranian people and
   prioritizing terrorist proxies over the basic needs of its people,"
   Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said in a statement.

   The sanctions come as Iran is struggling to contain the coronavirus
   pandemic, reporting at least 29,000 cases and more than 2,200 deaths.
   

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