IRAN NEWS))))))

Nasrin Hassani, the managing editor of Siyahat-e Sharq weekly publication in Iran, was summoned on Sunday, February 4, to serve her seven-month sentence in prison. She was convicted in Dec. 2023 of disseminating falsities and sentenced to seven months in jail. She was also fined one million Tomans for failing to observe the compulsory Hijab in public. http://tinyurl.com/5b68e5xk

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According to the National Council of Resistance of Iran-NCRI English website, in a recent development, the al-Forat News Agency unveiled a document dated January 21, shedding light on efforts to impede the financial channels supporting terrorism linked to the Iranian regime. The document, authored by Ammar Hamid Khalaf, Deputy Governor of the Central Bank of Iraq, was directed towards the Bank-e-Melli [National Bank] of Iran. Khalaf underscored that due to operational losses, constrained activities, and the impracticability of expansion, the license permitting the Central Bank of Iran’s operations in Iraq has been rescinded.

The document underscores the infeasibility of the bank’s continued presence in Iraq, compounded by its status as a target of international sanctions. While this action marks a significant setback to the regime’s attempts to bypass international sanctions and finance its militias, its effectiveness remains limited. However, there are indications that the United States is gradually awakening to the magnitude of the threat it has previously ignored.

Brian Nelson, the Deputy Treasury Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence, traveled to Iraq on January 28 to address concerns regarding the circumvention of U.S. sanctions. Notably, American authorities alerted the Iraqi government to the nation’s inadvertent role as a conduit for dollar smuggling to Tehran. Reuters reported on February 4 that Iraq has implemented a ban on eight local commercial banks from conducting transactions in U.S. dollars. Following a recent visit by a senior U.S. Treasury official, this action comes as part of Iraq’s efforts to combat fraud, money laundering, and other illicit activities involving U.S. currency. http://tinyurl.com/4wjturr7