US Treasury head cautions over implementing additional bans on Iran

(MENAFN) On Tuesday, US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen cautioned that her department might enforce additional sanctions against Iran following its assault on Israel.

"Treasury will not hesitate to work with our allies to use our sanctions authority to continue disrupting the Iranian regime’s malign and destabilizing activity," she made the statement during a press conference preceding the 2024 spring meetings of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank.

"The attack by Iran and its proxies underscores the importance of Treasury’s work to use our economic tools to counter Iran’s malign activity," she stated.

Yellen highlighted that since the inauguration of the Joe Biden administration, the Treasury Department has focused on sanctioning more than 500 individuals and entities linked to terrorism and terrorist financing associated with the Iranian regime and its affiliated groups. These efforts have encompassed targeting Iran's drone and missile programs, as well as its support for various groups such as Hamas, the Houthis, Hezbollah, as well as Iraqi militia groups.

"From this weekend’s attack (on Israel) to the Houthi attacks in the Red Sea, Iran’s actions threaten the region’s stability and could cause economic spillovers," she further mentioned.

On Saturday, Iran carried out an aerial assault on Israel in response to an airstrike on its diplomatic compound in the Syrian capital on April 1. The attack involved the launch of over 300 drones and missiles, but the majority were intercepted by the air defense systems of Israel and its allies, including the US, France, and the UK.

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