(WASHINGTON) US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen will say on Tuesday that Washington will “not hesitate” with its allies to strengthen sanctions against Iran after its attack on Israel.
“Treasury will not hesitate to work with our allies to use our sanctions authority to continue to disrupt the Iranian regime's malign and destabilizing activities,” Joe Biden's Secretary of the Economy and Finance will warn.
Speaking at a preface to a press conference organized as the spring meetings of the IMF and the World Bank begin, he highlighted the fact that “Iran's actions threaten the stability of the region and could have economic consequences.”
Tehran launched a direct attack on Israeli territory overnight from Saturday to Sunday, in response to a deadly Israeli strike against its embassy in Damascus.
Since Joe Biden came to the White House in January 2021, he would say, “we have targeted more than 500 individuals and entities associated with terrorism and the financing of terrorism by the Iranian regime” and various associated movements in the region.
Specifically targeting “Iran's drone and missile programs and its funding of Hamas, the Houthis, Hezbollah and Iraqi militias,” he will describe.
Mme Yellen will insist that sanctions against Hamas should not prevent aid to residents of Gaza, and pledge that the Treasury has worked to “guarantee that sanctions do not impede vital aid.”
“In Gaza, the entire population – more than two million people – faces severe food insecurity and most people are displaced. It is up to all of us present at these meetings to do everything we can to end this suffering,” the minister said.
And, as a Treasury Department official announced Monday, Washington wants to use the spring meetings of the IMF and the World Bank to advance a plan to arm and rebuild Ukraine using Russia's frozen assets.
“We continue to work with our international partners to unlock the economic value of immovable Russian sovereign assets and ensure that Russia pays for the damage it has caused,” Janet Yellen underlined.
The spring meetings of the IMF and the World Bank begin on Tuesday in Washington and last for a week.
“Certified food fanatic. Extreme internet guru. Gamer. Evil beeraholic. Zombie ninja. Problem solver. Unapologetic alcohol lover.”
