Sanctions experts say new US Treasury measure could inhibit humanitarian trade with Iran
The US Treasury's new Iran "humanitarian" mechanism is seen by experts as a tool to inform new sanctions on the country.
WASHINGTON — Several former US government sanctions experts said a new, supposed Iran “humanitarian” transparency mechanism announced today by the Treasury Department is likely to be seen as an intelligence-gathering mechanism to inform new US sanctions rather than facilitate Iran’s purchase of food and medicine.
“This does not help, and in fact probably makes the situation worse,” Brian O’Toole, a former official at the Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control, wrote on Twitter. “It’s like they’re trying to force Europe to scream and pound the table.”
