US targets companies for evading Iran sanctions

In an effort to show the world that the Obama administration will not back down on its Iran sanctions despite the Geneva deal, the US departments of State and Treasury announced Thursday a list of more than a dozen companies that have conducted transactions with Iranian entities in violation of the sanctions. Companies in the Ukraine, Singapore, Panama and others had their US assets frozen for doing business with the National Iranian Tanker Company. "Today's actions generally prohibit transactions between the designees and any US person, and freeze any assets they may currently have or that come under US jurisdiction," read the press statement. "In addition, any foreign financial institution or person that facilitates significant transactions or provides material support to the designated entities may have their access to the US financial system severed and/or their property under US jurisdiction blocked," it added. The US also targeted more than a dozen firms and individuals that provided some measure of support to Iran's nuclear program. "We have not imposed sanctions for sanctions' sake," said David S. Cohen, the Treasury Department's sanctions chief in an address to the US Senate's banking committee today. "One of the key purposes of sanctions always has been to induce a shift in the policy calculus of the Iranian government and to build the necessary leverage for serious negotiations about Iran's nuclear program," he added.