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U.S. to Block Iran's Request to IMF for $5 Billion Loan
(Wall Street Journal) Ian Talley - The U.S. plans to block Iran's requested $5 billion emergency loan from the International Monetary Fund for funding Tehran says it needs to fight its coronavirus crisis. Senior U.S. officials said Iran's government has billion-dollar accounts still at its disposal. If allowed to tap IMF financing, Tehran would then be able to divert those or other funds to finance militants in the Middle East. Iranian "officials have a long history of diverting funds allocated for humanitarian goods into their own pockets and to their terrorist proxies," said one administration official. The U.S. is also opposed to Tehran tapping the $5 billion in reserves held in its account at the IMF due to the likelihood the funds would be diverted. The U.S. government is required by law to vote against IMF aid to countries designated as state sponsors of terror, as Iran is.