US envoy bound for Mideast to ramp up pressure on Iran
A senior treasury official is traveling to the Middle East in a bid to ramp up pressure on Tehran and its armed affiliates, Reuters reported on Friday.
A senior treasury official is traveling to the Middle East in a bid to ramp up pressure on Tehran and its armed affiliates, Reuters reported on Friday.
"I look forward to meeting with our partners to coordinate our efforts to deny Tehran and its proxies the financial access they rely on to evade international sanctions, fund violence, and undermine stability in the region," it cited John Hurley, Treasury undersecretary for terrorism and financial intelligence, as saying in a statement.
Iran backs various armed groups in the region opposed to Israel and the United States including Hezbollah in Lebanon, Hamas in Gaza, the Houthis in Yemen and Shi'ite militias in Iraq and Syria.
Hurley will travel next week to Israel, the United Arab Emirates, Turkey and Lebanon to focus on implementing US sanctions on Iran, Reuters reported.
Since the October 7 2023 Hamas attacks which killed 1,200 and brought back over 200 to Gaza as captives, Israel has launched attacks in Lebanon and Gaza which have killed over 70,000 people according to local health officials.
The campaigns deeply weakened Iran-backed armed groups there.
'Sustained pressure'
"President Trump has made clear that Iran's destabilizing and terrorist activities must be met with sustained and coordinated pressure," Hurley said.
UN sanctions have been reimposed on Iran since last month, initiated by France, Germany, and the United Kingdom over Tehran's failure to cooperate with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and engage in direct talks with the United States.
Iran suspended cooperation with IAEA inspectors after a 12-day war in June against Israel and the United States in which they attacked Iranian nuclear sites, codified via a new law passed by parliament.
Tehran denies seeking a nuclear weapon, but Western powers and Israel doubt its intentions.
President Trump withdrew from a 2015 Iran nuclear deal and imposed stringent sanctions he bills as a "maximum pressure campaign".
Upon starting his second term Trump reinstated the policy, intensifying sanctions to curb Iran's nuclear program and proxies, while seeking a tougher new deal.
