US Imposes Sanctions on Putin's Daughters and Russian Banks

Apr 6, 2022 • The US is taking additional actions to increase economic pressure on Russia and President Vladimir Putin following horrific images from the Ukrainian city of Bucha, announcing new sanctions on Russian financial institutions, as well as some people, including Putin’s adult daughters and the wife and daughter of his foreign minister.

I wrote this essay on March 1. I still stand by what I stated in the short essay. Dithering is wrong; and expecting Ukrainians to do all our fighting for us is simply wrong, immoral, and becoming increasingly untenable! – Mark | Read the short essay here.

Putin’s Daughters Targeted in US Sanctions against Russia

THE GUARDIAN: Joe Biden links new measures directly to accounts of atrocities committed by Russian forces in Bucha

Putin’s daughter Katerina Tikhonova, an academic at Moscow State University and acrobatic rock’n’roll dancer. Photograph: Evgenia Novozhenina/Reuters
The US has announced a new round of sanctions targeting Russia’s top public and private banks and two daughters of Vladimir Putin, following mounting global accusations of Russian war crimes in Ukraine.

The sanctions targeted Maria Vorontsova and Katerina Tikhonova, two adult daughters of Putin’s with his former wife Lyudmila Shkrebneva.

Also hit with new sanctions were the wife and daughter of the Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov and members of Russia’s security council, including the former president and prime minister Dmitry Medvedev and the current prime minister Mikhail Mishustin.

“These individuals have enriched themselves at the expense of the Russian people. Some of them are responsible for providing the support necessary to underpin Putin’s war on Ukraine,” the White House said.

“We believe that many of Putin’s assets are hidden with family members, and that’s why we’re targeting them,” a senior US official told reporters, referring to the two daughters.

The White House also declared “full blocking” sanctions on Russia’s largest public and private financial institutions, Sberbank and Alfa Bank, and said all new US investment in Russia was now prohibited.

New sanctions would be announced on Thursday on key Russian state enterprises, it said, aiming to hamper their ability to trade and move money through the global financial system. » | Jennifer Rankin in Brussels and agencies | Wesnesday, April 6, 2022

Berlin Outraged after Donald Trump Hits Gas Pipeline Project with Sanctions

THE TELEGRAPH: Berlin has accused Washington of interfering in German internal affairs, after Donald Trump signed off on US sanctions against companies building a Russian natural gas pipeline to Germany.

"The Federal Government rejects such extraterritorial sanctions," Ulrike Demmer, a spokeswoman, said in Berlin on Saturday.

“They affect German and European companies and constitute an interference in our domestic affairs."

The US is an outspoken opponent of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline, which will transport natural gas about 750 miles from Russia, through the Baltic Sea and into Germany.

The sanctions will hit any company working with Russia’s state-owned Gazprom to complete the project. » | James Crisp, Brussels correspondent | Saturday, December 21, 2019

How Sanctions Affect Iran... in Five Objects – BBC News

It's a year since President Donald Trump began re-imposing sanctions on Iran, three months after announcing the US was withdrawing from the landmark nuclear deal. The Trump administration has called these "the toughest ever" sanctions imposed on the country. It says they are only aimed at the government, not ordinary Iranians. But sanctions are affecting day-to-day life in Iran and these five items help explain the impact. Produced by Elise Wicker, Camelia Sadeghzadeh and Derrick Evans; art direction by Alice Grenié; executive production by Charlie Newland

Analysis: Iranian Foreign Minister's Reaction to US Sanctions

The United States has imposed tough sanctions on Iran's top diplomat Javad Zarif. The US is accusing the foreign minister of promoting what it calls the reckless agenda of Iran’s supreme leader.

Zarif has hit back on Twitter, thanking the Trump administration for considering him a "huge threat" to his agenda, and saying the sanctions have "no effect" on him or his family. Al Jazeera's Dorsa Jabbari reports live from Tehran

Trump's Iran Treaty Withdrawal and Sanctions Based on Lies, But War Could Be a Reality

Khury Petersen-Smith outlines how Trump's untruths and policies are making America the aggressor, not Iran, and how American media from the New York Times to Fox News are falling for his rhetoric.

Javad Zarif, Foreign Minister, Iran – BBC HARDtalk

HARDtalk’s Zeinab Badawi is in New York for a rare interview with Iran Foreign Minister Javad Zarif who is attending high level talks at the UN. Hostilities between Iran and the US are at a historic high; recently, President Trump said he was ‘ten minutes away from war with Tehran’. Could the two countries stumble into a war? And is Iran raising the stakes in the Persian Gulf after Washington tore up the nuclear deal last year?

Iranian President Calls White House 'Mentally Retarded'

Jeremy Hunt is not just a Tory leadership hopeful, he is, in fact, also the Foreign Secretary, and today he told parliament he could not envisage any situation in which the UK joins the US in a war with Iran.

Donald Trump announced new sanctions yesterday, but Iran's President has responded by calling them "useless, outrageous and idiotic," adding that the White House appears to be "afflicted by mental retardation".

Iran Says 'Idiotic' New US Sanctions Have Closed Path to Diplomacy

THE GUARDIAN: Foreign ministry spokesman accuses Trump administration of destroying peace and security

Iran says the US decision to impose sanctions on its supreme leader and other top officials is “idiotic” and has permanently closed the path to diplomacy between Tehran and Washington.

Donald Trump imposed new sanctions on Monday against the supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and top military chiefs, in an unprecedented step designed to increase pressure on Iran after Tehran’s downing of an unmanned American drone. Khamenei is Iran’s utmost authority who has the last say on all state matters.

Washington said it would also impose sanctions this week on Iran’s foreign minister, Javad Zarif, who negotiated the 2015 nuclear deal with the US and other major powers and has spearheaded Iranian diplomacy since.

Iran’s president, Hassan Rouhani, described the White House as “afflicted by mental retardation” and said the sanctions against Khamenei were “outrageous and idiotic”, especially as the 80-year-old cleric has no overseas assets and no plans to ever travel to the US. » | Patrick Wintour, Diplomatic editor | Tuesday, June 25, 2019

Iran vs. America: What's Next?

Jamal Abdi updated us on the new sanctions on Iran. Trump’s Iranian sanctions are designed to force Iran into accepting what the US wants. The Iranian sanctions are Trump and Pompeo wanting the Iranian administration to change. The US sanctions on Iran are making it harder for moderate Iranians to protest their government rather than easier. The military strikes against Iran which were stopped ten minutes before launch and has confused both Iran and the US. Are economic sanctions ever successful? John Bolton and Mike Pompeo are running the world and running Trump. They want military action, not economic ones. Will there be a regime change in Iran as a result of the new economic sanctions?

Iran's Basic Goods Prices Double as Fall of Rial Continues | Al Jazeera English

US sanctions are making life in Iran increasingly difficult for its people. Iranians say their devalued currency is a more pressing problem. Al Jazeera's Zein Basravi reports from Tehran.

Economist Jeffrey Sachs: US Sanctions Have Devastated Venezuela & Killed Over 40,000 Since 2017

More than 40,000 people have died in Venezuela since 2017 as a result of US sanctions, according to a new report by the Center for Economic and Policy Research co-authored by economists Jeffrey Sachs and Mark Weisbrot.

The report examines how US sanctions have reduced the availability of food and medicine in Venezuela and increased disease and mortality.

We speak with Jeffrey Sachs in our New York studio. In the report, he writes, “American sanctions are deliberately aiming to wreck Venezuela’s economy and thereby lead to régime change. It’s a fruitless, heartless, illegal, and failed policy, causing grave harm to the Venezuelan people.”

Stop Buying Iranian Oil or Face Sanctions? | Inside Story

Oil prices are on the rise after the United States announced a new crackdown on Iran's oil exports aiming to reduce them to zero.

Iran is threatening retaliation by blocking the Strait of Hormuz - the world's lifeline of oil from all Gulf countries, including Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Iraq. The move has brought America's rivals and allies on the same page.

China and Turkey have condemned the decision; and India and Japan, major buyers of Iranian oil, are scrambling to meet the shortfall.

Many countries would now feel the pinch of sanctions Washington re-imposed after pulling out from Iran nuclear deal last year.

Will the development stoke tensions in the Gulf? And does Donald Trump risk alienating friends and antagonizing rivals?

Presenter: Imran Khan | Guests: Adolfo Franco, Republican strategist & Former Adviser to President George W. Bush and Senator John McCain; Mohammad Marandi, Head of the North American Studies Graduate Program at the University of Tehran; Dan Wang, China Analyst, The Economist Intelligence Unit

Mike Pence Attacks UK for 'Breaking US Sanctions against Iran'

NAME: Mike Pence, the US vice president, has accused Britain, France and Germany of trying to sabotage American sanctions against Iran and called on the European states to withdraw from the 2015 nuclear deal.

In an unusually blunt attack on America’s traditional European allies, Mr Pence told a summit in Warsaw that the three countries were leading “an effort to break American sanctions against Iran’s murderous revolutionary regime”.

He focused his criticism on a financial mechanism created by the three states and the EU to allow European firms to continue trading with Iran in a way that skirts punishing US sanctions.

“It's an ill-advised step that will only strengthen Iran, weaken the EU, and create still more distance between Europe and the United States,” Mr Pence said.

He said the British, French, and German governments had “not been nearly as cooperative” in backing America’s anti-Iran policy as Israel and the Gulf Arab states like Saudi Arabia and the UAE. » | Raf Sanchez, Warsaw | Thursday, February 14, 2019

Who Will Be Worst Hit by US Sanctions on Iran? | Inside Story

US President teased his 55 million Twitter followers about his latest action against Iran in the style of a Hollywood movie poster - a picture of him with the words: Sanctions are Coming.

But Donald Trump's taunt wasn't a joke - and it's expected there'll be real life consequences for millions of Iranians. The strict economic and trade penalties come into effect on Monday. The White House says the aim is to force Iran to abandon what it calls its "destructive" behaviour in the Middle East.

But the move's been condemned by Russia, China, and many European allies. International investigators say Tehran is complying with the terms of the 2015 nuclear agreement.

As Trump keeps his promise to punish Iran, could the new tough measures end up hurting the Iranian people the most?

Presenter: Richelle Carey | Guests: Francois Nicoullaud, former French ambassador to Iran; Mohammad Eslami, columnist and political researcher; Drew Liquerman, Republicans Overseas UK

Saudi Arabia Promises to Retaliate over Any Sanctions

Saudi Arabia is promising to retaliate against any sanctions over journalist Jamal Khashoggi's disappearance.

Do US Sanctions Work? | Inside Story

Punishing its enemies economically, when stopping short of armed force, has long been a favoured American way of achieving foreign policy goals.

Sanctions have been around for decades, but came to the fore after the 9/11 attacks on the US in 2001. They are now again present when diplomacy does not work.

President Donald Trump has been imposing them more widely and more often. The latest were over Turkey’s detention of US pastor Andrew Brunson, which has triggered one of the most serious rifts with a NATO ally. But those targetted by the US are hitting back with their own sanctions, some of the same level and scale. And the list of countries affected is long. But do the sanctions serve any purpose? And who gets hurt the most?

Presenter: Hoda Abdelhamid | Guests: Richard Weitz, Director of the Center for Political-Military Analysis at the Hudson Institute; Mohammad Marandi, Head of North American Studies graduate programme at the University of Tehran; Christopher Preble, Vice president for defense and foreign policy studies at the Cato Institute.

World Financial Markets Suffer as US-Turkey Ties Decline, Washington Vows to Keep Sanctions

The US says economic sanctions against Turkey will remain in place even if Ankara releases an American pastor, whom it arrested on suspicion of terrorism offences. That's after both sides imposed further tariffs on each other. Concerns over whether the situation has escalated too much, were raised at the US State Department.

#democracynow : Former Iranian Ambassador: Trump’s Re-imposed Sanctions Against Iran Are an Act of Warfare

Tensions are escalating between the U.S. and Iran after the Trump administration re-imposed economic sanctions against Iran last week. This news followed Trump’s decision to withdraw from the Iran nuclear deal. Trump has threatened other countries seeking to trade with Iran, tweeting, “Anyone doing business with Iran will NOT be doing business with the United States.” Iranian President Hassan Rouhani condemned the sanctions as “psychological warfare,” saying last week he would not begin negotiations until the sanctions are withdrawn. We speak with Ambassador Seyed Hossein Mousavian, Middle East security and nuclear policy specialist at Princeton University’s Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs. He served as spokesperson for Iran in its nuclear negotiations with the European Union from 2003 to 2005.

Iran: Persian Rug Industry Takes a Hit after US Sanctions | Al Jazeera English

Last year, Tehran sold $126m worth of Persian rugs to the American market, but the new US sanctions on Iran include the hand-woven carpets. But the beautiful rugs are more than just a commodity; they are recognised around the world as a form of art and are part of Iran's cultural identity. Weavers say the sanctions are not just an attempt to block an important revenue stream, but also an attack on Iranian culture. Al Jazeera's Zein Basravi reports from Karaj, Iran.