U.S. Treasury Department Sanctions Iran’s Atomic Energy Organization and Ali Akbar Salehi

The U.S. Treasury Department on Thursday sanctioned Iran’s Atomic Energy Organization and Ali Akbar Salehi, its head.

According to a statement released by the U.S. Treasury Department on Thursday, February 29, the name of “Ali Akbar Salehi,” head of Iran’s Atomic Energy Organization, was added to the U.S. sanctions list SDN (Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons List).

According to Reuters, the U.S. decision to sanction Salehi and Iran’s Atomic Energy Organization will impact Iran’s non-military nuclear program because this organization controls the program and carries out procurement actions for Iran’s nuclear facilities.

Earlier, Bloomberg reported, citing sources, that the U.S. government plans to extend exemptions for atomic cooperation with Iran while sanctioning Ali Akbar Salehi, head of Iran’s Atomic Energy Organization.

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, on November 1, while extending exemptions for foreign companies’ cooperation in Iran’s nuclear facilities, announced new decisions to further sanctions and impose restrictions on the Islamic Republic’s nuclear program.

These exemptions allow Iran to continue cooperation with other countries that remain committed to the JCPOA at three nuclear sites: Fordow, Arak, and Bushehr Nuclear Power Plant, to ensure that Iran maintains uranium enrichment at low levels.

President Trump’s administration, citing objections to the JCPOA, withdrew from the nuclear agreement and reinstated sanctions against the Islamic Republic. U.S. government officials also stated, pointing to the Islamic Republic’s destabilizing actions in the region and support for terrorist groups, that maximum pressure on the Islamic Republic will continue until it behaves like a normal country in the region.

U.S. State Department and Treasury Department officials in their latest statements regarding sanctions on the Islamic Republic considered it a way to avoid war with this regime amid heightened tensions between the two countries.

Bryan Hook, Special Representative of the U.S. State Department for Iran Affairs, also said during the two-day Doha, Qatar meeting, in an interview with American CNBC news network, that economic sanctions against Iran have put the Islamic Republic at a crossroads.

The U.S. government has repeatedly stated that the Islamic Republic spends its revenues to support terrorist groups in the region and carry out destabilizing actions in other countries, rather than spending them to improve the livelihood of the Iranian people.

Source: Voice of America