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US sanctions Dubai financier tied to Khamenei, Iranian exchange network

The sanctions target a global financial network that enriches Iran’s ruling elite and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps while restricting Tehran’s access to foreign currency, according to the U.S. Treasury Department.

International currency. Credit: AlexSky/Pixabay.
International currency. Credit: AlexSky/Pixabay.

The Trump administration imposed new sanctions on July 10 against a Dubai-based financier tied to Iranian Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei as well as three Iranian currency exchange houses, as part of efforts to restrict the Islamic Regime’s access to foreign currency and disrupt its international financial networks.

The U.S. Department of the Treasury sanctioned Iranian national Ali Ansari on Friday, accusing him of overseeing a global network of real estate and commercial holdings across Europe and the Middle East that benefited Khamenei, other regime insiders and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. Treasury said the network also siphoned wealth from the Iranian people for the regime’s elite.

Treasury also designated three Iran-based exchange houses, their managing partners and associated front companies, alleging they moved billions of dollars annually on behalf of sanctioned Iranian banks through shadow banking networks.

“The so-called Supreme Leader is hiding in seclusion while his regime crumbles,” Scott Bessent, the U.S. treasury secretary, stated. “Treasury will continue using every tool at its disposal to isolate him and other regime elites from the global financial system. We will preserve these assets for the Iranian people.”

Tommy Pigott, spokesman for the U.S. State Department, stated that these actions “reflect the Trump Administration’s commitment to holding accountable all those who enable the regime’s corruption and regional aggression.”

The sanctions were announced days after Iran launched attacks on commercial vessels transiting the Strait of Hormuz, prompting renewed U.S. military strikes and additional economic measures against Tehran.

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