By DPA,
Washington : The US moved Wednesday to further tighten sanctions on Iran, targeting the elite Revolutionary Guard Corps one day after the Islamic state began expanding the scope of its nuclear work.
The US Treasury Department said Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) was involved in the development of Iran’s nuclear capability and deepening its influence in financial sectors to support the programme.
The sanctions freeze any assets of Khatam al-Anbiya Construction Headquarters, the engineering arm of the IRGC that the Treasury Departments says is a front to help the IRGC generate income to fund its activities.
“As the IRGC consolidates control over broad swaths of the Iranian economy, displacing ordinary Iranian businessmen in favor of a select group of insiders, it is hiding behind companies like Khatam al-Anbiya and its affiliates to maintain vital ties to the outside
world,” said Treasury Undersecretary Stuart Levey.
“Today’s action exposing Khatam al-Anbiya subsidiaries will help firms worldwide avoid business that ultimately benefits the IRGC and its dangerous activities,” he said.
The sanctions also target General Rostam Qasemi, who heads Khatam al-Anbiya Construction Headquarters, and the company’s subsidiaries, the Treasury Department said.
The department’s announcement came a day after President Barack Obama said there was a new push underway for international sanctions against Iran, saying the process was moving “fairly quickly”.