In eight weeks, the Treasury has issued seven sanctions announcements relating to Iran.
But the volume obscures the fact that these so-called “new” sanctions do next-to-nothing as a practical matter—though they may be good public relations in showing the United States cracking down on the Islamic Republic.
Press attention was given last month when the Treasury Department sanctioned Abbas Jafari-Dolatabadi, Iran’s prosecutor general, and Brig. Gen. Mohammad-Reza Naqdi, commander of the Basij for human rights abuses.
The Treasury Department just started sanctioning Iranian officials last year for human rights abuses. Eight were sanctioned before and Naqdi and Dolatabadi became the ninth and tenth names on the list.
That has the impact of singling the men out around the globe as human rights abusers. But the sanctions have little practical impact. The sanctions freeze their funds in the United States. But it is unlikely either has any funds in the United States. They are also barred from visiting the United States, hardly much of a deterrent.
Furthermore, Naqdi had already been sanctioned twice before—for his position as a senior Pasdar officer and for an alleged role in Iran’s nuclear program. The additional citation for human rights abuses doesn’t add to sanctions.
On February 17, the Treasury Department announced sanctions on Bank Refah for providing financial services to Iran’s Defense Ministry and aircraft manufacturing company. It became the 20th Iranian bank sanctioned by the United States. This sanction was interesting mainly because the United States was following the EU, which sanctioned Bank Refah last July. Usually the EU follows sanctions actions by the United States.
On February 9, Treasury sanctioned the Moallem Insurance Co. Here was another case, however, where the company was already sanctioned (for aiding institutions working on weapons of mass destruction) and was simply named under yet another category of sanctions (Iranian Financial Sanctions Regulations).
Other sanctions announcements in recent months named new front companies that have been created by the Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines (IRISL) to try to evade sanctions.
In sum, the sanctions categorized in the media as “new” are rarely new in any normal sense. They are little more than a layering of existing sanctions or picking up aliases used by the same old companies to try to duck under sanctions.