US Treasury sanctions Atomic Energy Organization of Iran and Ali Akbar Salehi
On Thursday, the US Treasury Department imposed sanctions on the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran and its head, Ali Akbar Salehi.
According to a statement from the US Treasury Department released on Thursday, February 1, the name of Ali Akbar Salehi, head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran, has been placed on the US SDN (Specially Designated Nationals and Entities) sanctions list.
According to Reuters, the US decision to sanction Mr. Salehi and the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran will affect Iran's civilian nuclear program because this institution controls this program and carries out procurement activities for Iran's nuclear facilities.
Bloomberg previously reported, citing sources, that the US government was planning to "sanction" Ali Akbar Salehi, the head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran, in addition to extending the exemption for nuclear cooperation with Iran.
On November 1, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced new decisions to impose further sanctions and restrictions on the Islamic Republic's nuclear program, while extending the exemption for foreign companies to cooperate in Iran's nuclear facilities.
These exemptions allow Iran to continue to cooperate with other countries still committed to the JCPOA at the three nuclear sites of Fordow, Arak, and the Bushehr nuclear power plant to ensure that Iran keeps uranium enrichment at the same low level.
President Trump's administration withdrew from the nuclear deal, citing the flaws in the JCPOA, and reimposed sanctions on the Islamic Republic. U.S. officials also pointed to the Islamic Republic's destructive actions in the region and its support for terrorist groups, and announced that maximum pressure on the Islamic Republic's regime would continue until it behaved like a normal country in the region.
In their latest comments on sanctions against the Islamic Republic, officials from the US State Department and Treasury Department described it as a way to avoid war with the regime at the height of tensions between the two countries.
Also, Brian Hook, the US State Department's special representative for Iran, said in an interview with the American news network CNBC on the sidelines of the two-day Doha meeting in Qatar that economic sanctions against Iran have placed the Islamic Republic's regime at a crossroads.
The US government has repeatedly stated that the Islamic Republic spends its income on supporting regional terrorist groups and destructive actions in other countries, rather than improving the livelihoods of the Iranian people.
Source: Voice of America
