Washington “will not hesitate”, with its allies, to strengthen sanctions against Iran after its attack on Israel, and is even considering announcing them “in the coming days”, American Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said on Tuesday. of a press conference.
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“The Treasury will not hesitate to work with our allies to use our sanctions power to continue to disrupt the malicious and destabilizing activities of the Iranian regime,” warned Joe Biden’s Minister of Economy and Finance.
“I expect that we will take additional sanctions against Iran in the coming days,” she then clarified.
Speaking at a press conference at the start of the spring meetings of the IMF and the World Bank, Ms. Yellen highlighted the fact that “Iran’s actions threaten the stability of the region and could have economic benefits.
Tehran launched a direct attack on Israeli territory during the night from Saturday to Sunday, in response to a deadly strike attributed to Israel against its consulate in Damascus.
Since the arrival at the White House of Joe Biden in January 2021, “we have targeted more than 500 individuals and entities linked to terrorism and the financing of terrorism by the Iranian regime” and the various movements linked to it in the region, said the minister.
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And this, in particular by targeting “Iran’s drone and missile programs and its financing of Hamas, the Houthis, Hezbollah and the Iraqi militias,” she detailed.
Russian assets
Ms. Yellen insisted on the fact that the sanctions taken against Hamas must not prevent aid from reaching the inhabitants of Gaza, assuring that the Treasury has made sure to “guarantee that the sanctions do not hinder the ‘vital aid’.
“In Gaza, the entire population – more than two million people – faces acute food insecurity and most of the population has been displaced. It is up to all of us present at these meetings to do everything in our power to put an end to this suffering,” she pleaded.
Furthermore, as a Treasury Department official announced on Monday, Washington intends to take advantage of the spring meetings of the IMF and the World Bank to advance the project consisting of using Russia’s frozen assets to arm Ukraine and rebuild it.
“We continue to work with our international partners to unlock the economic value of stranded Russian sovereign assets and ensure that Russia pays for the damage it has caused,” Yellen said.
“We have the G7 meeting tomorrow (…), and I hope to continue these discussions. We are looking at a range of possibilities,” she said.
The Secretary of the Treasury also met her Chinese counterpart on Tuesday, on the occasion of the third meeting of the economic and financial working group between the two countries, during which the question of overproduction in China was to be addressed.
The spring meetings of the IMF and the World Bank began Tuesday in Washington and will last a week.