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Sanctions and related policies

Trump administration unleashes first sanctions on Iranian shadow fleet

On February 6, the Department of the Treasury unleashed the first wave of the new Trump administration’s economic sanctions using the tried-and-true U.S. Government/Treasury...

The Biden administration’s parting gift to Russia: Still more sanctions

Clearly working overtime to underscore the Biden administration’s desire to inflict maximum economic pain on Moscow and its coterie of Ukraine invasion supporters outside...

Righteous indignation over Maduro’s inauguration unlikely to change Venezuela’s dark reality

President Nicolas Maduro of Venezuela was sworn in on January 10 for his third six-year term. Promising that his third term would be one...

Stringent new energy sector sanctions on Russia announced

On January 10, the U.S. Government released a massive new listing of over 200 entities and individuals involved in Russia’s energy sector for Ukraine-related...

EU searches for alternatives before Russian gas to Europe via Ukraine stops

The Ukrainian government has repeatedly stated that it will not extend a transit agreement, which has provided political, commercial, technical and legal grounds for...

OPEC+ postpones plans to increase production over supply unease

The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and allies including Russia, known collectively as OPEC+, decided on December 5 to delay its planned...

Biden administration takes final steps to counter global corruption and human rights abuses

Announcing a global grab-bag of new sanctions, possibly some of its last, the Biden administration took major steps on December 9 by authorizing new...

U.S. sanctions Russian banks, finance officials and securities registrars

The U.S. announced on November 21 new sanctions targeting Russia’s largest remaining non-designated bank (Gazprombank), as well as dozens of other financial institutions and...

Washington targets Syrian conglomerate funding Iran and Houthis

On November 14 the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) sanctioned 26 companies, individuals, and vessels associated with the...

Drone producers in China and Russia face new U.S. sanctions

In recent months, the Biden administration’s sanctions taskmasters at the State and Treasury Departments have clearly gone into overdrive, designating new targets/entities at least...

The complex politics of Caspian gas

For the countries bordering the Caspian Sea, gas has always been a major economic resource and, in most cases, one of the biggest contributors...

U.S. expands sanctions on Iranian petroleum sector, targeting “ghost fleet”

In the aftermath of Iran’s unprecedented October 1 ballistic missile attack against Israel, Washington made it clear that Iran would face consequences for its...

Washington orders new sanctions against Hamas’ sham fundraising network

Going after key elements of the Hamas European fundraising network on the anniversary of the Gaza war, on October 7 the U.S. Treasury Department’s...

Supplying Russia and Iran, Armenia emerges as a new sanctions black hole

For the past two years, Armenia has been attempting to demonstrate its shift towards the West, all the while maintaining its geopolitical role as...

Georgian officials sanctioned for anti-democratic actions and human rights abuses

In the continuing wave of new sanctions announcements this month against actors who are seen as undermining democracy and abusing human rights, the Biden...

G7 Foreign Ministers condemn Tehran’s export and Russia’s procurement of Iranian ballistic missiles

The foreign ministers of the Group of Seven (G7) industrialized powers condemned on September 14 "in the strongest terms" Iran's sales and Russia's purchases...

Washington hits back at Russia’s covert influence activities aimed at 2024 U.S. elections

In a wide series of actions on September 4, the Biden administration froze Kremlin-run websites and charged two Russian state media employees in its...

EU must strengthen financial protections for Hong Kong activists

Imagine leaving your homeland to escape tyranny, only to find the oppressive regime you fled can still reach you, manipulating your financial lifelines. This...

Hungary, Slovakia sweetheart deal with Brussels keeps the Russian oil flowing through Ukraine

The energy crisis that has been caused by Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine continued after Kyiv imposed in late June of this year a...

U.S. Targets ISIS Facilitation Network across Africa

On July 23, the U.S. Government announced new sanctions against a network of three individuals associated with the expanded activities of the Islamic State...

G7 Summit focuses on Ukraine support and shattering Russia’s wartime economy

Despite last week’s expert punditry (itself almost indistinguishable from AI) on the latest G7 decisions as exhibited by the “instant experts” on global issues...

Washington orders new sanctions against Russia’s Wagner Group in Africa

 On May 30, the Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ordered new sanctions measures to counter Russia’s destabilizing activities in...

New wave of U.S. sanctions target Russia’s foreign suppliers and industrial base

On May 1, the U.S. Department of State together with the U.S. Treasury Department unveiled a wide-ranging new list of anti-Russia sanctions covering an...

New sanctions ordered following Iran’s April 13 missile and drone attacks against Israel

Following Iran’s massive, but ineffective, missile and drone strikes against Israel April 13, the United States and the United Kingdom announced their new sanctions...

U.S. and U.K. take new steps to reduce Russia’s revenue from metals

On April 12, the U.S. Department of the Treasury, in coordination with the United Kingdom, issued two new prohibitions in order to disrupt the...

Western corporations must be held accountable for their role in China’s Uyghur genocide

In recent testimony before the Senate, U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen stated that “the Biden Administration should be sanctioning human rights violations” there and...

U.S. zeroes in on Houthi revenue sources

The U.S. Government made several announcements this month regarding new sanctions on Houthi revenue sources, building on steps taken in coordination with the U.K....

Eyeing competitors, OPEC+ countries will keep cutting oil production

Several OPEC+ countries are extending additional voluntary cuts of 2.2 million barrels per day, aimed at supporting what they are labeling "the stability and...

Intellexa Commercial Spyware Consortium sanctioned

The U.S. Government announced on March 5 a new set of sanctions on the members of the Intellexa Commercial Spyware Consortium based across Europe....

Zimbabwe: U.S. reconfigures sanctions to focus on corruption and human rights

On March 4, three separate U.S. Government Departments/Agencies issued Zimbabwe-specific sanctions guidance, demonstrating how complex and intertwined U.S. sanctions legislation has become and how...

Russia sanctions remain a powerful tool to support Ukraine’s defense

Western leaders should not dismiss the two-year long sanctions campaign (as opposed to the 2014 Crimea sanctions) as unsuccessful simply because the Kremlin has...

New U.S. Russia sanctions widen scope, adding 500 new targets

The U.S. State Department released a comprehensive list of new sanctions measures on February 23, clearly the culmination of months of preparation in order...

US designates Yemen’s Houthis as terrorist organization

The Biden administration announced on January 17 that it is re-designating the Houthis, an Iranian-backed, Yemeni Shia Islamist group, as a terrorist organization. The...

New US actions against corruption and Russian malign influence in the Western Balkans

On November 16, the US Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control, known by its acronym OFAC, designated eight individuals and six...

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