The targets include 15 leaders, individuals, and entities affiliated with groups such as Hamas, al-Qaeda, the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL or ISIS) and Iran’s IRGC, the US Treasury Department said in a statement.
“Since the horrific attacks of 9/11, the US government has refocused its counterterrorism efforts to constantly adapt to emerging threats,” Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said in the statement.
Firmness against Iran’s regime enters Europe
Following the illicit entrance of Iran’s Adrian Darya 1 oil tanker in Syria and its oil delivery to Bashar al-Assad’s regime, the United Kingdom Foreign Office, on Tuesday, September 10, “summoned the Iranian ambassador to condemn what it said was a clear breach of the assurances it was given over the oil cargo of the tanker Adrian Darya 1, which had previously been detained for breaching EU sanctions,” Reuters reported.
“Iran has shown complete disregard for its own assurances over Adrian Darya 1. This sale of oil to (Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s) brutal regime is part of a pattern of behavior by the Government of Iran designed to disrupt regional security,” the UK Foreign Minister, Dominic Raab, said in a statement, underlining the Iranian regime’s destructive role in the Middle East.
UK marines seized Adrian Darya 1 back in July when it was moored off the coast of Gibraltar for breaking EU sanctions on Syria. On August 15, Gibraltar released it after Iran gave assurances it would not sail to the war-torn state. In addition, in a clear act of state piracy, Iran’s regime impounded the British-flagged vessel Stena Impero in retaliation for the seizure of the Adrian Darya.
Mere Blackmailing
Iran’s breaching its commitments under its 2015 nuclear deal with the world powers, formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), as well as its continued support of terrorist groups in the region and state piracy is part of its longtime blackmailing campaign.
In this regard, on September 4, Morgan Ortagus, the U.S. State Department’s spokesperson tweeted, “Having failed at piracy, Iran resorts to outright blackmail – deliver us $15 billion or we will further our nuclear developments. Sounds very similar to the threats Iran made a couple of months back. It is becoming a pattern.”
