The U.K. added three people and one entity to its Iran sanctions regime Sept. 2, the Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation announced. The individuals are Abdolfatah Ahvazian, Iran Revolutionary Guard Corps Commander Hamid Fazeli, and Behnam Shahriyari. IRGC Quds Force Unit 700 was listed for activity meant to "cause the destabilisation of the United Kingdom or any other country," OFSI said.
Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, urged the Biden administration Aug. 27 to increase its enforcement of Iran sanctions to reduce Tehran’s support for terrorist groups. "Instead of allowing the Iranian regime to prosper and withholding weapons from our greatest ally in the Middle East, I’m calling on the Biden-Harris administration to deny" Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps' "ability to support and arm terrorists and provide Israel the resources it needs to decimate these terrorists once and for all," Ernst said. The senator made her comment after visiting the site in northern Israel where a rocket attack by Iran-backed Hezbollah killed 12 children last month. A State Department official recently said the administration is "vigorously enforcing" Iran sanctions (see 2408120032).
The Biden administration is pushing to implement the new Iran sanctions authorities that Congress approved four months ago, a National Security Council spokesperson said Aug. 15.
House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Michael McCaul, R-Texas, said Aug. 14 that the Biden administration should move more quickly to implement new Iran sanctions that Congress approved four months ago. “The only way to deter Iran and its proxies is through a clear display of strength and resolve," McCaul said in a statement.
The Biden administration is “reviewing closely” the requirements of new laws authorizing sanctions on Iranian oil and “will ensure the rigorous implementation of their provisions” as they take effect, a State Department official recently told a lawmaker.
An Iran-backed militia’s rocket attack that injured U.S. troops in Iraq this week underscores the need for the Biden administration to increase enforcement of Iran oil sanctions to reduce Tehran’s funding for terrorism, Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., said in a statement Aug. 5.
Senate Banking Committee ranking member Tim Scott, R-S.C., asked the Treasury Department last week to tell him when it plans to provide lawmakers with an overdue report on Iran sanctions.
Chinese citizen Zhenyu "Bill" Wang and Texas resident Daniel Ray Lane were sentenced to 45 months in prison for trying to violate U.S. sanctions and commit money laundering as part of a scheme to "transact in sanctioned petroleum and launder the proceeds," DOJ announced.
Lawmakers are proposing dozens of export control-, sanctions- and foreign investment-related amendments to the House version of the FY 2025 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), including measures aimed at China, Iran and Russia.
Houston residents Muzzamil Zaidi and Asim Mujtaba Naqvi pleaded guilty last week for their role in a scheme to send money to Iran without permission from the Office of Foreign Assets Control, DOJ announced.