US Sanctions 10 Iran, Hong Kong, Pakistan Firms — SkimNews
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- US Treasury sanctioned 10 individuals and entities in Iran, Hong Kong, and Pakistan, accusing them of helping Iran's military procurement network under its "Operation Economic Outcast" campaign.
- Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the department "will not tolerate any support to the regime and will continue to identify, expose, and isolate Iran's enablers," framing the action as cutting off "critical financial lifelines."
- Iran's rial crashed to a record low of more than 2.5 million per US dollar on Tuesday, surpassing its previous low of 2.2 million set on September 2.
- The rial has been steadily declining since February 28, with the article attributing the slide to a US naval blockade on Iranian oil and successive rounds of sanctions pushing Iran's economy into an "unprecedented freefall."
- The Biden administration in 2024 had previously targeted entities supporting Iran's Ministry of Defence and Armed Forces Logistics in missile and drone production, the article noted.
- The sanctioned entities are alleged to have procured weapons and components for Iran's defence ministry amid a now seven-month war against the US, with officials saying the goal is to disrupt Iran's defence systems and weaken its ability to rebuild its weapons programme.
Why it matters: By extending enforcement to Hong Kong and Pakistan-based facilitators, Washington is raising the cost for cross-border procurement networks just as Iran's currency crosses a historic threshold — the rial has lost roughly 14% of its value against the dollar since early September alone, reflecting an economy the article describes as in unprecedented freefall under combined sanctions and a naval oil blockade.
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