WASHINGTON, May 25 (KUNA) -- Since implementation of nuclear agreement, Iran has gained access to USD billions in reserves, opened new bank accounts around the world, and recovered to about half of its pre-sanction oil exports to Europe, a US official said.
"Iran has kept its end of the deal, we must uphold ours," Acting Under Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence Adam Szubin said to the House Committee on Foreign Affairs Wednesday. "We are not standing and will not stand in the way of permissible business activities involving Iran." It is in the US' "national security interest" to ensure that the terms of the nuclear agreement work as intended, he added. Should the US not comply with the deal it would "undermine Iran's incentive to comply" and "undermine our own international credibility and our corresponding ability to use sanctions to change behavior.
"Yet, Iran continues to be the world's leading state sponsor of terrorism," he affirmed.
The country is known to support Hezbollah, the Assad regime, and reportedly the Houthis in Yemen to which the US has continued to impose other sanctions on Iran. This includes prohibiting Americans from investing in the country, importing or exporting most goods, and denying it from accessing the US market.
Such sanctions "are not meant to punish or vent frustration," Szubin said. They are intended "to pressure Iran to change its strategic calculus on terrorism and regional destabilization." The US has also continued to sanction Hezbollah and in January applied restrictions on one of its major financial support networks.
"Today the group (Hezbollah) is in its worst financial shape in decades," said Szubin.
Meanwhile, the top Democrat on the committee highlighted Iran's recent "provocative" ballistic missile testing and urged the Treasury Department to support imposing more sanctions.
"I would hope that the administration would seem to lessen its objections to Congress coming out with new sanctions," said Representative Eliot Engel. "I think it's not so terrible to have Congress come up with new sanctions." Szubin responded that missile testing is not part of the nuclear agreement and that Congress' current sanctions contributions continue to be "very potent.
"Yet, Iran continues to be the world's leading state sponsor of terrorism," Szubin acknowledged. (pickup previous) ak.bs