US imposes sanctions on Russian bank over Iran dealings

The United States has expanded its Iran-related economic pressure by imposing new sanctions on Russia's state-owned VTB Bank, accusing the financial institution of helping Tehran evade US sanctions, according to Reuters.

The US Treasury Department said the move builds on sanctions imposed on VTB, Russia's second-largest bank, in 2022 following Moscow's full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

US Treasury Secretary Scott Beissinger stated that Washington will continue to target entities providing material, technological, or financial support to the Iranian regime, within what he described as an economic pariah operation.

Beissinger added that the Treasury "will not tolerate any support for the Iranian regime," stressing the department's ongoing efforts to identify, expose, and isolate those assisting Tehran.

The action against the Russian bank follows Beissinger's warning last week that the administration of President Joe Biden would sanction a major bank as part of continued economic pressure on Iran amid the ongoing US-Iran conflict for more than six months.

Since the conflict began in February, the United States has imposed a wide range of economic measures against Iran, targeting oil exports, shipping networks, arms procurement channels, financial intermediaries, digital asset exchanges, and airlines.