The sanctions were announced amid ongoing diplomatic efforts that have so far failed to produce an agreement to end the U.S. war with Iran. The sanctions apply to Nobitex, its president and three co-founders, as well as three other Iranian cryptocurrency exchanges, CNN reports.
The U.S. Treasury Department accused Nobitex of “facilitating payments related to Iranian terrorist activities, sanctions evasion attempts, and transactions related to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), including ransomware entities affiliated with the IRGC.”
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Donald Trump hits Nobitex with sanctions. “He protected the regime's assets”
“Nobitex also helped the Central Bank of Iran gain access to hundreds of millions of dollars worth of stablecoins, used to prop up the falling value of the Iranian rialwhile also enabling members of the regime to access international digital asset exchanges and avoid sanctions in multiple jurisdictions,” the Department said in a press release.
“After the US began combat operations in Iran, Nobitex played a role in the protection and transfer of assets and funds outside Iran, protecting the regime's assets despite interruptions in Internet access,” we read further.
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Iran-US talks
The sanctions were announced amid ongoing diplomatic efforts that have so far failed to lead to a breakthrough between the US and Iran.
Iran announced on Monday the suspension of communications with the US in response to Israel's intensifying military activities in Lebanon.
US President Donald Trump then announced that the leaders of Israel and Hezbollah had agreed to halt fighting in Lebanon. Trump also announced that no Israeli troops would attack Beirut.
Shortly after the announcement of this decision, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared that Israel “will attack terrorist targets in Beirut” if Hezbollah continues its attacks.
Despite this, the Israeli army continues to fire in the south of the country – reported the AFP agency.
At the same time, further peace negotiations began in Washington with the participation of diplomats from Israel and Lebanon.
Source: CNN
