WASHINGTON – President Biden on Thursday responded to Tehran’s airstrikes against Israel over the weekend by continuing similar Iranian drone strikes against Ukraine and failing to crack down on Iran’s lucrative oil exports. It announced sanctions against an Iranian steel company, an unmanned aircraft company, and 16 individuals.
Leading Republicans and Democrats in Congress have urged Biden to consider targeting Iran’s oil revenues in response to Iran’s support for Hamas terrorists in the Gaza Strip. There was no mention of the country’s biggest export, for which he had previously eased sanctions.
Rising U.S. gas prices could hurt Biden’s bid for a second term in November.
“In less than a week, Iran launched the largest missile and drone attack on Israel the world has ever seen,” the 81-year-old president said in a statement. “The United States, along with our allies and partners, defended Israel. We helped defeat this attack. And today, we are holding Iran accountable and imposing new sanctions and export controls on Iran.” .”
Biden said the new sanctions “target leaders and entities associated with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, the Iranian Ministry of Defense, and the Iranian government’s missile and drone programs that made this brazen attack possible.”
Israeli authorities said no one was killed, but one Arab Bedouin girl was seriously injured in the barrage of 320 missiles and drones fired by Iran on Sunday morning local time. US and Israeli forces shot down most of the projectiles before they reached their targets.
U.S. sanctions can freeze international bank accounts, making financial transactions extremely difficult and preventing targets from easily transacting directly.
The Treasury Department said the new sanctions “include 16 individuals and two entities that enable Iranian UAV production, including the engine types that power Iran’s Shahed-type UAVs.” [drones]It was used in the April 13 attack. ”
The Biden administration is also targeting Iranian steel exports, and the next day, Biden’s U.S. trade representative visited the battleground state of Pennsylvania and asked the U.S. to consider imposing a new 15% tariff on Chinese steel.
Thursday’s sanctions target companies that “provide components and materials for steel production to Iran’s Khuzestan Steel Company (KSC), one of Iran’s largest steel producers, or purchase KSC’s finished steel products. 5 companies in multiple jurisdictions.”
“Iran’s metal sector generates billions of dollars worth of revenue annually, the majority of which comes from steel exports,” the ministry said.
The U.S. government also accused automaker Bahman Group’s subsidiary of Automobile Manufacturer Bahman Group of “continuing to provide material support to other organizations designated under counterterrorism authorities, including the Revolutionary Guards and the Ministry of Logistics of the Iranian Defense Forces (MODAFL).” Three companies were sanctioned.
Biden has called for former President Donald Trump’s “maximum pressure campaign” on sanctions against Iran aimed at stripping Iran of funding for nuclear technology and armed proxies in Iraq, Lebanon, the Palestinian Territories, Syria and Yemen. countered bipartisan criticism for relaxing the law.
In January, a group of 62 members of the House of Representatives, including prominent California Democrats Adam Schiff and Eric Swalwell, urged Biden to impose full U.S. sanctions on Iranian oil sales in response to a surge in Iranian oil exports. We requested that the law be implemented in accordance with the law. Approximately 2 times Iran’s annual export levels in 2019 and 2020.
“Iran currently exports more than 1.4 million barrels of oil per day, more than 80% of which is destined for China. From February 2021 to October 2023, the regime will At least $88 billion was taken from the group wrote.
“Iran has reaped significant economic benefits from widespread sanctions avoidance, with Iran’s annual economic growth rate increasing by more than 4% and its net foreign exchange reserves increasing by 45%.”
Congressional Republicans have separately called on Biden to revoke sanctions waivers that allow Iraq to pay for electricity to Iran, which they believe Iran will be allowed to do. Access to $10 billion.
In September, Biden agreed to release $6 billion in frozen Iranian oil revenues held by South Korea in exchange for the release of five Iranian-Americans from prison.This money is held by Qatar for Iran to purchase food, medicine, etc., but the United States and Qatar A “quiet agreement” was reportedly reached. It plans to suspend distributions in October, but the current status of the funds is unclear.
