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Iran
US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin speaks with reporters outside the White House in Washington DC, March 13, 2020. File photo: Jim Watson / AFP
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region – Five Iran and Iraq-based companies and 15 individuals were blacklisted by the US Treasury Department on Thursday for “malign activities” including support for Iraqi militias. The fresh sanctions come despite growing calls to ease pressure on Iran while it battles coronavirus.
Those added to the blacklist are accused of running weapons to Iraq and Yemen, selling Iranian oil to Syria, and supporting Iran’s powerful Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corp (IRGC) and its extraterritorial Quds Force, both of which Washington deems as terrorist organizations.
The Treasury has also blacklisted companies and individuals accused of supporting Iran-backed militias in Iraq, including Asa’ib Ahl al-Haq and Kataib Hezbollah, the latter of which Washington implicates in the March 11 rocket attack on Iraq’s Taji military base that killed one Briton and two US personnel.
Those blacklisted by the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) have seen their US-assets frozen and US firms are forbidden to deal with them.
“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,” said Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin in a statement.
Kataib Hezbollah issued a statement, published by Iranian media on Saturday, appearing to relish their designation as terrorists.
“American actions will not break the will of the Iraqi people and diminish their resistance,” the group said.
“The world is tired of US actions that were nothing but war, terrorism and conspiracy. Hezbollah congratulates a few believers joining America’s terrorism list.”
In a video message this week, Iran’s Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said: “Even amid this pandemic, the US government has vengefully refused to lift its unlawful and collective punishment, making it virtually impossible for us to even buy medicine.”
He also tweeted a list of the supplies that Iran urgently needs, including 172 million masks and 1,000 ventilators. “Viruses don’t discriminate. Nor should humankind,” he said.
The five blacklisted firms are Mada’in Novin Traders, Reconstruction Organization of the Holy Shrines in Iraq, Bahjat al Kawthar Company for Construction and Trading Ltd (Kosar Company), and Al Khamael Maritime Services, and Middle East Saman Chemical Company.
The 15 individuals added to the blacklist are accused of fostering ties with the companies or officials of the Quds Force and Kataib Hezbollah.
“As a result of today’s action, all property and interests in property of these persons that are in or come within the United States or in the possession or control of US persons must be blocked and reported to OFAC,” the Treasury said.
“In addition, persons that engage in certain transactions with the persons designated today may themselves be exposed to sanctions.”
Washington has piled sanctions on Iran since withdrawing from the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) – known as the Iran nuclear deal – in May 2018. Iran’s oil and finance sectors have been squeezed and several top officials have seen their US assets frozen.
The sanctions have devastated Iran’s economy, leaving the country especially vulnerable to the coronavirus outbreak, which has infected 29,406 people and killed 2,234 as of Thursday.
There are now growing calls for Washington to ease sanctions pressure on Iran to help it overcome one of the world’s worst coronavirus outbreaks.
“The sanctions have played a destructive role in aggravating the spread of the coronavirus,” Yasmine Taeb, an Iranian-American human rights attorney and Democratic National Committee official, told Rudaw English via email this week.
“As an Iranian-American who recently lost a relative in Iran to the virus, it’s imperative for the administration to heed the call of countless global health officials and organizations, Members of Congress, as well as the UN, and even close allies such as the UK, to ease sanctions at this critical time,” Taeb added.
Iranians are struggling to obtain essential medicines and equipment, including gloves and masks for health workers, 50 of whom have reportedly died since the outbreak began, according to Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR).
Although US sanctions do not apply to humanitarian supplies, they have had a chilling effect on many firms who are wary of falling foul of the restrictions.
“The United States maintains broad exceptions and authorizations for humanitarian aid including agriculture commodities, food, medicine, and medical devices to help the people of Iran combat the coronavirus,” Treasury Secretary Mnuchin said Thursday.
Tensions remain high between Washington and Tehran with many fearing an all-out war in January after Quds Force commander Qasem Soleimani was assassinated in a US drone strike near Baghdad airport, prompting Iran to launch retaliatory missile strikes against US forces stationed in Iraq.
Soleimani had far-reaching influence over Iraq’s powerful Shiite paramilitia groups, widely held responsible for the recent spate of rocket attacks on US diplomatic, economic, and military infrastructure in Iraq.
Updated with Kataib Hezbollah statement at 3:00 pm, March 28, 2020
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