Washington Targets Iran's Auto, Rail, Manufacturing, and Steel Sectors
Washington, Aug 10 (KUNA) -- The United States announced targeting Iran’s automotive, railway, manufacturing, and steel sectors, as well as a “parallel” banking network, as part of the “Economic Outcast” operation launched by Washington on August 24 to cut off the economic lifelines of Tehran.
In a statement, the U.S. Treasury Department said the new measures taken on Thursday “target some of the last critical elements of Iran’s struggling industrial infrastructure, including conglomerates operating in the railway and automotive sectors.” The ministry added that, “just like the oil sector, Iran’s automotive and railway industries have come under the control of the regime and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), where corruption and self-interest by these two entities have pushed the Iranian economy to the brink of collapse.”
It noted that “with the increasing effectiveness of the U.S. Navy’s maritime blockade and Iranian oil revenues falling to zero, the regime has become increasingly reliant on these remaining industries to maintain a facade of economic solvency.” It explained that “since the railway and automotive sectors represent some of the regime’s largest remaining sources of revenue and logistical capabilities, today’s measures deliver a direct blow to the vital arteries Iran depends on to sustain its economy and circumvent sanctions.”
The statement emphasized that “the automotive sector, in particular, is closely linked to IRGC patronage networks, facilitating corruption, trade-based money laundering, and even the exploitation of prison labor, making the dismantling of these channels essential to cutting off funding sources for the IRGC.” It pointed out that “by targeting Iranian companies, suppliers, and foreign intermediaries that feed them, today’s designation decisions cut off the international procurement networks the regime relies on to maintain its industrial base and circumvent U.S. pressure.”
It reported that the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) issued two additional orders as part of today’s actions, imposing sectoral sanctions targeting Iran’s automotive and railway sectors. These orders grant OFAC “the authority to impose sanctions on any entity or individual operating in the aforementioned sectors.” Consequently, today’s designations were made pursuant to Executive Orders 13902 and 13871, which target key Iranian industrial sectors, including iron and steel, aluminum, and copper.
For his part, U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, in a statement included in the release, affirmed that “the Iranian regime’s ability to fund its war machine and spread terror around the world has been severely diminished thanks to the ‘Economic Outcast’ operation,” noting that today’s measures “directly target entities that enable Iran and pave the way for the United States and our partners to ultimately drain the regime’s revenues.”
In a separate statement, the U.S. Treasury Department revealed it had taken “unprecedented actions” against the “A7” network, which it identified as “a parallel banking network with ties to Russia used by the Iranian regime to circumvent sanctions.” It explained that its Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) “proposed a rule prohibiting the transfer of funds related to transactions involving sub-agents” of the aforementioned network, in addition to issuing “an advisory to help financial institutions monitor suspicious activities” linked to the network, while simultaneously imposing OFAC sanctions on it “as a significant transnational criminal organization.”
In this regard, Bessent stated that today’s action targeting the “A7” network “continues the Treasury’s unprecedented efforts to isolate Iran and the entities facilitating its financial operations and sends a clear message that those who facilitate illicit financing for America’s adversaries will lose access to the U.S. financial system.” (End) R.S.R / M.A.A
