U.S. Policy
On January 19, 2021, Antony Blinken, the Secretary of State-designate, pledged that the Biden administration would reenter the 2015 Iran nuclear deal if Tehran first rolls back its recent violations, but would then “seek a longer and stronger agreement” in collaboration with the other five major…
On January 13, the United States sanctioned two major foundations, along with their heads and subsidiaries, controlled by Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. The two bonyads (charitable organizations), Execution of Imam Khomeini’s Order and Astan Quds Razavi, have accumulated vast wealth through…
On January 8, the U.S. Treasury sanctioned Falih al Fayyadh, Chairman of the Iraqi Popular Mobilization Commission (PMC) and former National Security Advisor to the Iraqi Prime Minister, for human rights abuses. Fayyadh headed the PMC when its forces, including militias supported by Iran, allegedly…
On January 5, the U.S. Treasury sanctioned 12 Iranian and four foreign-based companies as well as one Iranian man involved with steel production and sales. Concurrently, the State Department sanctioned an Iran-based shipping company involved in supplying graphite, a key element in steel production…
Harakat Hezbollah al Nujaba, an Iraqi militia trained, armed and advised by Iran's Revolutionary GuardsSince the 1979 revolution, Iran has built a network of proxies across the Middle East. By the end of 2023, Tehran had allies among more than a dozen major militias, some with their own political…
On December 16, the Treasury Department sanctioned four companies – two based in China and two based in the United Arab Emirates – for facilitating the export of Iranian oil by a previously designated firm, Triliance. Four companies, including Triliance, were sanctioned in January 2020 for…
In 2020, the United States ratcheted up its “maximum pressure” campaign to force Tehran to negotiate a new and broader deal on Iran’s nuclear program, missiles test, intervention in the Middle East and support for extremist movements. U.S. sanctions on Iran caused “a currency crisis, mounting…
On December 15, the State Department designated Saraya al Mukhtar, a Bahrain-based militia with ties to Iran, as a terrorist organization. Saraya al Mukhtar “plotted attacks against U.S. personnel in Bahrain and has offered cash rewards for the assassination of Bahraini officials,” Secretary of…
On December 14, the Trump administration imposed sanctions on two Iranians allegedly involved in the disappearance of former FBI agent Robert Levinson. Levinson was abducted on Iran’s Kish Island in March 2007. Thirteen years later, in March 2020, Levinson’s wife and children said that they…
On November 25, the United States sanctioned two firms in China and two in Russia for supporting Iran’s missile program. The following is a statement by Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo
“On Wednesday, November 25, 2020, the United States sanctioned four entities…