The US Treasury Department's top sanctions official will travel to the Middle East and Europe on Friday, as President Donald Trump’s administration seeks to increase pressure on Iran.
John Hurley, undersecretary for terrorism and financial intelligence, will travel in the coming days to Israel, the United Arab Emirates, Türkiye and Lebanon, according to the statement, in his first trip to the Middle East since taking office.
After taking office for his second term, Trump restored his “maximum pressure” campaign on Iran, which includes efforts to prevent Tehran from developing a nuclear weapon. In June, the US bombed Iran's nuclear sites.
“President Trump has made clear that Iran's destabilizing and terrorist activities must be met with sustained and coordinated pressure,” Hurley said in the statement.
“I look forward to meeting with our partners to coordinate our efforts to deny Tehran and its proxies the financial access they rely on to evade international sanctions, fund violence, and undermine stability in the region,” he said.
UN Sanctions
In his first term, Trump withdrew the US from a 2015 deal between Iran and world powers that placed strict limits on Tehran's uranium enrichment activities in exchange for sanctions relief.
In September, the United Nations reinstated an arms embargo and other sanctions on Iran over its nuclear program.
Western powers accuse Iran of having a clandestine agenda to develop nuclear weapons capability by enriching uranium to a high level of fissile purity, above what they say is justifiable for a civilian atomic energy program. Tehran says its nuclear program is wholly for civilian power purposes.
While in Israel, Hurley will discuss furthering Trump's maximum pressure campaign against Tehran, particularly against its regional proxies, according to the statement. Pressure against Iran will also be high on the agenda in the UAE, along with combating money laundering and the financing of terrorism.
In Türkiye, the Treasury official will discuss how the two countries can “work together to stop regional malign influences and sanctions evasion.”
Under former President Joe Biden's administration, the US had raised concerns about poor sanctions compliance in the UAE.
Washington’s plan to increase its maximum pressure campaign against Iran came after the US has granted India a six-month sanctions waiver to operate the Iranian port of Chabahar, India’s Foreign Ministry said on Thursday.
India signed a 10-year contract with Iran last year to develop and operate the port and this month stepped up its ties with Taliban-run Afghanistan by reopening its embassy in Kabul that was shut after the Islamist group seized power in 2021 following the withdrawal of US-led NATO forces.
Meanwhile, Chairman of the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Senator Jim Risch, said Iran is trying to rearm and poses a threat to the global community.
“Sanctions loopholes need to be closed now. Iran and China aren’t fooling anyone,” the Senator wrote on his account on X.
Iran heavily relies on an “economy of resistance” strategy, aimed at achieving economic independence and self-reliance in the face of persistent international sanctions.
