Trump administration adds new sanctions on Russia and Iran for Syrian financing scheme

Washington Free Beacon:

The Trump administration on Tuesday announced new sanctions on Iran and Russia for engaging in a financial scheme to enrich the embattled Syrian government led by President Bashar al-Assad, according to U.S. officials.

The Trump administration's Treasury Department is cracking down on an oil shipping scheme led by Iran and Russia that has been providing "millions of barrels of oil" to the Syrian government as it continues its assault in a bloody civil war that has dragged on with no end in sight.

"The Assad regime, in turn, facilitates the movement of hundreds of millions of U.S. dollars to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps-Qods Force (IRGC-QF) for onward transfer to Hamas and Hezbollah," both of which have been propped up and armed by the Iranian regime since the landmark nuclear deal was put into force.

The new actions come as the Trump administration undertakes an effort to crack down on Iran's malign activity across the region, including in Syria and Yemen, where Iranian militants have wreaked havoc on civilian populations. Tuesday's sanctions follow the reinstatement of economic penalties lifted by the Obama administration as part of the nuclear deal and in tandem with upcoming actions to declare Iran in breach of chemical weapons bans, as the Washington Free Beacon first reported on Friday.

"Today we are acting against a complex scheme Iran and Russia have used to bolster the Assad regime and generate funds for Iranian malign activity," Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said in a statement announcing the new sanctions. "Central Bank of Iran officials continue to exploit the international financial system, and in this case even used a company whose name suggests a trade in humanitarian goods as a tool to facilitate financial transfers supporting this oil scheme."

"We are issuing an Advisory today identifying the grave risks to the maritime community if they participate in shipping oil to the Government of Syria," Mnuchin said. "The United States is committed to imposing a financial toll on Iran, Russia, and others for their efforts to solidify Assad's authoritarian rule, as well as disrupt the Iranian regime's funding of terrorist organizations."
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This looks like a scheme to help Iran continue to support its terrorist proxies in the Middle East.  It also looks like an attempt to avoid US sanctions on oil shipments.