ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - The US Treasury Department on Thursday sanctioned an Iraqi bank for allegedly providing Iran with access to US dollars and maintaining ties to Iranian government entities and Iran-aligned militias, as Washington intensifies its economic pressure campaign against Tehran.
"Iraq-based International Development Bank for Investment and Finance (IDB) provides financial facilitation services and U.S. dollar access for Iran," the Treasury announced, noting that "IDB has abused its access to the now-dissolved U.S. dollar wire auction and maintains ties to Iranian government entities and Iran-aligned militia groups (IAMGs) in Iraq.”
The sanctions are part of Operation Economic Outcast, a sweeping US economic pressure campaign launched on August 24 and dubbed "Economic D-Day" by the Treasury. The campaign targets networks Washington says Iran uses to sell oil, evade sanctions, transfer funds and finance its regional activities.
The Treasury said the measures aim to further undermine Tehran's ability to rebuild its weapons programs while increasing the costs for those facilitating Iranian military procurement efforts.
According to the Treasury, IDB was originally established by Iranian firms to support Iran's domestic economy and secure access to US currency. It later received capital from US-sanctioned Bank Melli after sanctions forced the Iranian bank to cease operations in Iraq.
The Treasury alleged that IDB uses Iranian capital to conduct business, converts its profits into US dollars and transfers the funds back to Iran on a monthly basis.
It added that the bank's current management acquired ownership from a dual Iraqi-Iranian financier linked to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps-Quds Force (IRGC-QF), who allegedly continues to exercise control through family connections.
As part of Thursday's sanctions package, the Treasury also identified Iranian offshore banking entities allegedly involved in sanctions evasion.
It said Tehran had authorized certain banks to operate offshore in free trade zones to facilitate sanctions evasion, identifying Jazireh International Bank Company as an offshore entity affiliated with Bank Mellat and Chabahar International Bank Overseas Company as an offshore institution linked to Bank Shahr.
The latest measures follow the Treasury's Economic Fury campaign, launched in April as the financial counterpart to the US military campaign against Iran.
The United States and Israel launched large-scale strikes on Iran on February 28, with Washington naming its military campaign Operation Epic Fury.
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