Washington (TDI): The United States has imposed fresh Iran-related sanctions targeting a key financier linked to Iran’s new Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei, along with 13 other individuals and entities, as tensions between Washington and Tehran continue to rise.
The US Treasury Department said the sanctions target Iranian banker and businessman Ali Ansari, accusing him of using shell companies and overseas investments to channel funds benefiting Iran’s ruling elite and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).
The Treasury also sanctioned three Iran-based exchange houses and several foreign front companies, alleging they helped sanctioned Iranian banks move billions of dollars annually through complex financial networks.
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Washington would continue using all available tools to isolate Iran’s leadership from the global financial system, while the State Department said the measures were aimed at cutting off the financial resources of Tehran’s ruling establishment.
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The sanctions come after a week of renewed military escalation in the Gulf, during which attacks on commercial vessels in the Strait of Hormuz triggered US strikes on Iranian targets and retaliatory Iranian attacks on American military facilities in the region.
US President Donald Trump said the ceasefire agreement with Iran was effectively over but added that Washington had agreed to continue talks at Tehran’s request.
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Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi condemned the new sanctions, accusing Washington of violating Article 9 of the memorandum of understanding, which he said bars the US from imposing new sanctions or deploying additional forces in the region.
Tehran reiterated that it remains committed to the agreement as long as there is mutual compliance, while warning it is prepared for an “all-out defense” if the United States breaches its commitments further.
