US adds head of Iran’s central bank to terrorist list, imposes sanctions

The United States designated the head of Iran’s central bank as a terrorist on Tuesday, accusing him of funneling money to Hezbollah, the Iran-backed militant group.

The Treasury Department said it had imposed sanctions on Valiollah Seif, the bank’s current governor, and another senior official, Ali Tarzali, the assistant director of the bank’s international department, labeling them both as “specially designated global terrorists.”

“The United States will not permit Iran’s increasingly brazen abuse of the international financial system,” Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said in a statement. “The global community must remain vigilant against Iran’s deceptive efforts to provide financial support to its terrorist proxies.”

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The U.S. also sanctioned a Hezbollah official, Muhammad Qasir, whom the Treasury Department accused of working with Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps-Quds Force to transfer funds to the Lebanese militant group. 

The actions are the latest targeting officials in Tehran after President Trump declared last week that the U.S. would withdraw from the Obama-era nuclear deal between Iran and several global leaders and reimpose sanctions on the Islamic Republic.

That deal, reached in 2015 and formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), sought to curb Iran’s pursuit of a nuclear arsenal by providing significant sanctions relief for the country.

Trump had threatened for more than a year to abandon the deal. He argued it failed to address Iran’s activities beyond its nuclear pursuits, such as its support for groups like Hezbollah, which is considered a terrorist organization by the U.S.