Treasury Department plans to impose new sanctions on Iran after Israel attack

Treasury
Secretary

Janet
Yellen
said
Tuesday
that
the
U.S.
is
preparing
new
sanctions
on

Iran
after
the
country

launched
hundreds
of
drones
and
missiles
at

Israel
over
the
weekend.

“Treasury
will
not
hesitate
to
work
with
our
allies
to
use
our
sanctions
authority
to
continue
disrupting
the
Iranian
regime’s
malign
and
destabilizing
activity,”
Yellen
said
in
remarks
ahead
of
the
International
Monetary
Fund
and
World
Bank’s

Spring
Meetings
this
week. “The
attack
by
Iran
and
its
proxies
underscores
the
importance
of
Treasury’s
work
to
use
our
economic
tools
to
counter
Iran’s
malign
activity.”

Yellen’s
comments
come
as
Israel’s

wartime
Cabinet
is
weighing
how
to
respond
to
the
attack,
which
Iran
launched
in
retaliation
for
an
Israeli
strike
on
an
Iranian
consulate
in
Syria
earlier
this
month.
Israel
said
it
intercepted
99%
of
the
more
than
300
projectiles
from
Iran
that
came
in
on
Saturday.

The
U.S.
has
imposed

sanctions
on
Iran
and
its
proxies
in
recent
years
for
their
connections
to
terrorism
and
for
the
country’s
missile
program.
Yellen
said
she
expects
new
sanctions
in
the
coming
days.

“We
don’t
preview
our
sanctions
tools,
but
in
discussions
I’ve
had
all
options
to
disrupt
terrorist
financing
of
Iran
continue
to
be
on
the
table,”
Yellen
said.

Yellen
said
the
Treasury
may
do
more
to
prevent
Iran’s
ability
to
export
oil
despite
U.S.
sanctions.
China
has
in
recent
years
imported
more
Iranian
oil,
which
has
allowed
Tehran
to
keep
a

positive
trade
balance.

“Clearly,
Iran
is
continuing
to
export
some
oil.
There
may
be
more
that
we
could
do.
I
don’t
want
to
preview
our
actual
sanctions
activities,
but
certainly
that
remains
in
focus
as
a
possible
area
that
we
could
address,”
Yellen
said.

Yellen
said
the
Treasury
has
an
important
role
in
deterring
Iran
but
that
President
Joe
Biden
and
the
administration
are
conducting
a
broader
diplomatic
initiative.

“From
this
weekend’s
attack
to
the
Houthi
attacks
in
the
Red
Sea,
Iran’s
actions
threaten
the
region’s
stability
and
could
cause
economic
spillovers,”
Yellen
said.

CORRECTION:
This
article
has
been
updated
to
correct
that
Yellen’s
comments
were
from
remarks
ahead
of
the
International
Monetary
Fund
and
World
Bank’s
Spring
Meetings
this
week.