US Treasury chief warns of imposing more sanctions on Iran

ISTANBUL

US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen warned Tuesday that her agency may impose more sanctions on Iran after its attack on Israel.

"Treasury will not hesitate to work with our allies to use our sanctions authority to continue disrupting the Iranian regime’s malign and destabilizing activity," she told a press conference ahead of the 2024 spring meetings of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank.

"The attack by Iran and its proxies underscores the importance of Treasury’s work to use our economic tools to counter Iran’s malign activity," she said.

Yellen noted that the Treasury Department has targeted over 500 individuals and entities connected to terrorism and terrorist financing by the Iranian regime and its proxies since the beginning of the Joe Biden administration, which included targeting Iran’s drone and missile programs and its financing of Hamas, the Houthis, Hezbollah and Iraqi militia groups.

"From this weekend’s attack (on Israel) to the Houthi attacks in the Red Sea, Iran’s actions threaten the region’s stability and could cause economic spillovers," she added.

Iran on Saturday launched an airborne attack on Israel in retaliation for an April 1 airstrike on its diplomatic compound in the Syrian capital. It reportedly fired more than 300 drones and missiles, with almost all intercepted by the air defense systems of Israel and its allies – the US, France and the UK.

ISTANBUL

US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen warned Tuesday that her agency may impose more sanctions on Iran after its attack on Israel.

"The attack by Iran and its proxies underscores the importance of Treasury’s work to use our economic tools to counter Iran’s malign activity," she said.

"From this weekend’s attack (on Israel) to the Houthi attacks in the Red Sea, Iran’s actions threaten the region’s stability and could cause economic spillovers," she added.