[Washington Post] Glenn Kessler - The Bush administration has stepped up a broad effort to choke off Iran's ability to finance militant groups and acquire weapons technology by cutting off suspect banks and firms from the international banking system, U.S. officials said Friday. The Treasury Department said it had cut off one of Iran's largest state-owned banks from the U.S. financial system, accusing Bank Saderat of funneling $50 million to a Hizballah-controlled firm since 2001. The bank has also been used by Iran to transfer money to Hamas, the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine-General Command, and Palestinian Islamic Jihad. "This is certainly an example of the variety of different levers that are available not only to the United States, but other countries as well about how to bring about a change in behavior in the Iranian regime," said State Department spokesman Sean McCormack.
2006-09-11 01:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive