core sector communique

U.S. Official in Mideast for Sanctions, Terrorist-Financing Talks

Washington - A top U.S. Treasury Department official is visiting Saudi Arabia and Bahrain for discussions of sanctions against Syria and Iran and efforts to disrupt funding for terrorist networks worldwide.

Treasury Under Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence David S. Cohen is traveling December 17-20 to continue the Treasury Department's close coordination with international partners and allies in the region, the Treasury Department said December 16. Cohen will meet with senior government officials in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, and Manama, Bahrain, to discuss options to increase pressure on the government of Iran, including potential financial measures targeting the Central Bank of Iran.

Cohen's meetings will also focus on other issues of common interest, including continued cooperation on efforts to disrupt support networks of terrorist organizations and the implementation of U.S., European Union and Arab League sanctions aimed at disrupting the ability of the regime of Bashar al-Assad in Syria to finance its campaign of violence against the Syrian people.

The United States and its partners have imposed a series of travel restrictions and economic sanctions on officials and entities in Iran - over Iran's noncompliance with its international nuclear noncompliance obligations and human rights abuses following the 2009 presidential election - and on Syria for its brutal repression of peaceful protestors seeking government reform.

On December 1, Cohen told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee that the United States is pursuing a "broad-based pressure strategy" aimed at persuading Iran to change its course "and to make clear to Iran the consequences of its continued intransigent behavior."

"Among the most important elements of this strategy are targeted financial measures designed to disrupt Iran's illicit activity and to protect the international financial system from Iran's abuse," Cohen said. "We have focused our efforts on exposing Iranian entities' illicit and deceptive activities, an approach that has garnered support among foreign governments and led them to take similar actions, enhancing substantially the impact of our actions."

The latest sanctions on Iran  were announced by the Treasury Department on December 13. Sanctions were imposed against Hassan Firouzabadi, chairman of Iran's Joint Chiefs of Staff and Iran's most senior military officer, and Abdollah Araqi, the deputy commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Ground Force. They are accused of rights violations during a crackdown on protesters and the mistreatment of detainees after Iran's disputed June 12, 2009, presidential election, which came as Iranians sought to peacefully express their civil and political rights as part of the Green Movement.

In Syria, the United States, the European Union and like-minded nations have implemented strong sanctions to increase pressure on the Assad regime and target those responsible for grave human rights abuses. In both the United States and the EU, these include a ban on the import and sale of oil from Syria, the principal source of hard currency for that regime.

The Treasury Department's Office of Terrorism and Financial Intelligence works worldwide to deter those who would donate money to violent extremist groups, disrupt the mechanisms through which they transmit money, and degrade their financial support networks.

(Distributed by the Bureau of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State.)