Iranian tanker. Photo: wiki commons.

Reuters – WASHINGTON – The United States has aggressively ramped up its use of financial sanctions this year to pressure Iran to stop pursuing nuclear weapons, but a measure that takes effect in February could have the most dramatic impact yet, the Treasury Department’s top sanctions official said on Thursday.

Starting February 6, U.S. law will prevent Iran from repatriating earnings it gets from its shrinking oil export trade, a powerful sanction that will “lock up” a substantial amount of Tehran’s funds, said David Cohen, undersecretary for terrorism and financial intelligence at the U.S. Treasury Department.

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