US imposes fresh sanctions on 18 Iranian banks to intensify 'maximum pressure' campaign

The United States has targeted Iran’s financial sector by announcing fresh sanctions on 18 major Iranian banks as Washington intensifies its “maximum pressure” campaign ahead of November elections. The US State Department said that the new tranche of sanctions was aimed at choking off the funds used to carry out “its support for terrorist activities and nuclear extortion.”

Announcing the new sweeping sanctions, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo accused Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei of ignoring the request of the health ministry to increase the spending amid public health crisis, and instead funding the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and regime’s Basij forces “that terrorize the Iranian people every single day.”

“Our sanctions are directed at the regime and its corrupt officials that have used the wealth of the Iranian people to fuel a radical, revolutionary cause that has brought untold suffering across the Middle East and beyond,” Pompeo said in a statement.

The action generally bars Americans from dealing with those blacklisted under the sanctions and extends secondary sanctions to those who get involved in financial transactions with them. This could have a huge impact on European banks as they risk losing access to the US market and financial system. 

Read: UK Backs France, Germany For Pressing Sanctions Over Navalny Pensioning

Read: British MPs Urge Govt To Sanction Chinese Officials Responsible For Human Rights Abuse

Sanctions and US elections

The sanctions also hold significance vis-a-vis US presidential elections as the American intelligence believes that Iran seeks to undermine democratic institutions of the United States, President Donald Trump, and to divide the country in ahead of the 2020 elections. US counterintelligence chief William Evanina had said that Iran’s activities are driven by a perception that Trump’s re-election would result in a continuation of US pressure on Iran in an effort to foment regime change.

Last month, the US announced sanctions on several Iranian officials and judges over alleged gross violations of human rights. The sanctions targeted a judge who sentenced Iranian wrestler Navid Afkari to death. Pompeo had said that the wrestler was subjected to trials that were “rushed and grossly unfair” and he was reported being tortured by Iranian officials at Adel Abad Prison.

Read: US Imposes Sanctions On Belarusian Officials For 'falsifying' Election Results

Read: EU Threatens To Impose Sanctions On Turkey Over Tensions In Eastern Mediterranean