U.S. hits Iran's financial sector with fresh round of sanctions

__The United States on Thursday slapped fresh sanctions on Iran’s financial sector, targeting 18 Iranian banks in an effort to further shut Iran out of the global banking system as Washington ramps up pressure on Tehran weeks ahead of the U.S. election.

However, the U.S. Treasury Department said in a statement that the prohibitions did not apply to transactions for the provision of agricultural commodities, food, medicine or medical devices to Iran.

Washington’s move affected what the Treasury said were 18 major Iranian banks, most of which were targeted under U.S. Executive Order 13902, which allows the Treasury Department to target entire sectors of the Iranian economy.

It named them as Amin Investment Bank, Bank Keshavarzi Iran, Bank Maskan, Bank Refah Kargaran, Bank-e Shahr, Eghtesad Novin Bank, Gharzolhasaneh Resalat Bank, Hekmat Iranian Bank, Iran Zamin Bank, Karafarin Bank, Khavarmianeh Bank, Mehr Iran Credit Union Bank, Pasargad Bank, Saman Bank, Sarmayeh Bank, Tosee Taavon Bank, Tourism Bank and Islamic Regional Cooperation Bank.

While experts have said such a U.S. step could erode Iran’s ability to secure humanitarian goods by making foreign banks even more reluctant to facilitate such transactions, the Treasury stressed that the action under Executive Order 13902 does not affect existing authorizations for humanitarian trade, which remain in force.

Tensions between Washington and Tehran have soared since U.S. President Donald Trump unilaterally withdrew in 2018 from the 2015 Iran nuclear deal struck by his predecessor and began reimposing U.S. sanctions that had been eased under the accord.

ADVERTISEMENT

The sanctions Trump has reinstated target everything from oil sales to shipping and financial activities, and while they exempt food, medicine and other humanitarian supplies, many foreign banks are already deterred from doing business with the Islamic Republic - including for humanitarian deals.

Thursday’s move freezes any U.S. assets of those blacklisted and generally bars Americans from doing business with them.

During a massive military parade in North Korea, Kim Jong Un rolled out a fearsome missile that can pack several atomic weapons in a single projectile that could likely target any US city by overwhelming defense systems, according to reports.

Weapons experts said the likely engine configuration of the “monster” Hwasong-16 intercontinental ballistic missile would allow it to deliver several thousand pounds of payload anywhere in the US.

“They can saturate the defenses by having more re-entry vehicles than the US can ever hope to defend against,” .

Experts  estimated that the Hwasong-16 could hold as many as four warheads. The Hwasong-15, which Kim launched in November 2017, was believed to have a single warhead.

“We are aware of reports related to the parade. Our analysis is ongoing and we are consulting with our Allies in the region,” Defense Department spokesman Lt. Col. Chris Mitchell said .

The Hermit Kingdom would need to launch 11 single-warhead ICBMs to have at least a 1-in-3 chance of evading missile defense systems and detonating a thermonuclear device on an American city.

The more warheads it can fire, the greater the chance of overwhelming US defense systems, 

“If the North Koreans have questions about the performance of their own re-entry vehicles, putting multiple re-entry vehicles on a ballistic missile simply increases the chances that one of those will successfully detonate,”.

At around 85 feet, the new liquid-fuel missile appears to be about 6 to 9 feet longer than the Hwasong-15, weapons experts estimate. It’s also wider, making it the largest road-mobile ICBM of its type in the world.

The rogue regime displayed four of the new missiles during the parade, each carried by a never-before-seen 11-axle truck.

“It’s huge,” said Melissa Hanham, a weapons expert and deputy director of the Open Nuclear Network who called the missile “a monster.”

During his speech at the parade marking the 75th birthday of the ruling Workers’ Party, Kim said he would only use his arsenal if provoked.

“But if any forces try to use their military power against us, I will preemptively mobilize our most powerful offensive force and punish them,” he said.

The Hwasong-16’s engines may have been tested in December, but its actual performance cannot be assessed until North Korea actually launches it amid political risks for Kim because it would violate international sanctions.

A test also would undermine President Trump’s insistence that his personal diplomacy led Kim to halt test launches of long-range rockets.

If North Korea did test the missile, it would likely send it on a trajectory to reach an apogee in excess of 3,100 miles — 12 times higher than the International Space Station, Panda said.

Xu Tianran, an analyst for Open Nuclear Network, told  that the missile “could probably reach the whole of the US with a very large, high yield nuclear warhead, or two or more warheads if the warheads are smaller and lighter.”

Markus Garlauskas, a former US intelligence officer for North Korea, said the missile — estimated to have a yield of more than 2,000 megatons — would erase any remaining doubts that Pyongyang could hit the US.

“If the Hwasong-15 could carry a ‘super-large’ nuclear warhead to anywhere in the US, then the natural question is what can this larger missile carry?” .