Obama approves new tightened sanctions on Iran

President Barack Obama approved here Monday a new Executive Order to further tighten US sanctions on Iran and isolate the Iranian government for its continued failure to meet its international obligations. The White House said in a statement that this new action "targets Iran's currency, the rial, by authorizing the imposition of sanctions on foreign financial institutions that knowingly conduct or facilitate significant transactions for the purchase or sale of the Iranian rial, or that maintain significant accounts outside Iran denominated in the Iranian rial." "While the rial has lost half of its value since the beginning of 2012 as a result of our comprehensive sanctions, this is the first time that trade in the rial has been targeted directly for sanctions," it noted. The Executive Order authorizes the imposition of new sanctions against those who "knowingly engage in significant financial or other transactions for the sale, supply, or transfer to Iran of significant goods or services used in connection with Iran's automotive sector, building on the sectoral sanctions in the Iran Freedom and Counter-Proliferation Act of 2012 (IFCA) that target Iran's shipping, shipbuilding, and energy sectors." Further increasing the pressure on the Iranian government, the Order authorizes the imposition of additional sanctions on persons "who provide material support to Iranian persons and certain other persons designated pursuant to Iran sanctions authorities that are included on the list of Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons (SDN List) maintained by the Department of the Treasury." The Order also implements and builds upon certain sanctions set forth in the IFCA, signed into law by the Obama in January, as a part of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2013. Pursuant to today's action, the activities which will be subject to sanctions were identified as the Iranian Rial, Iran's automotive sector and material support to the Government of Iran. "The steps taken today are part of President Obama's commitment to prevent Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon, by raising the cost of Iran's defiance of the international community," the statement stressed. It affirmed that "even as we intensify our pressure on the Iranian government, we hold the door open to a diplomatic solution that allows Iran to rejoin the community of nations if they meet their obligations." "However, Iran must understand that time is not unlimited. If the Iranian government continues down its current path, there should be no doubt that the United States and our partners will continue to impose increasing consequences, " the White House noted.