(New York Times) Jackie Calmes and Rick Gladstone - The White House moved to enforce tightened sanctions against Iran on Monday, freezing all property of the Central Bank of Iran, other Iranian financial institutions and the Iranian government in the U.S. The new restrictions also raised new warnings to financial institutions in other nations that they could face big penalties in the U.S. if they did business with Iran's central bank. The actions were announced in an executive order signed by President Obama that started the enforcement process for a tough measure he signed into law at the end of 2011. If fully carried out, that measure could isolate Iran's central bank and effectively choke off the sale of Iranian oil by obstructing the means of payment. Most of the revenue for oil sales by Iran is processed by its central bank.
2012-02-07 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive