South Korean banks are holding onto $7 billion Iran says it is owed for the sale of oil products, according to the Mehr News Agency.
The Foreign Office did note that Iran’s repeated development and testing of ballistic missiles violates the UN Security Council resolution banning them from doing so.
Keeping the EU sanctions would reflect Western efforts to prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons and the means to deliver them despite the collapse of the 2015 deal.
The US Treasury Dept. said the move targeted three Iran- and Turkey-based individuals and a company affiliated with the IRGC-Quds Force and two senior officials of the IRGC's Intelligence Organizatio
The Council said “Restrictive measures now apply to a total of 216 individuals and 37 entities."
Qiao is in China and has not been arrested, prosecutors said. He faces charges including sanctions evasion, bank fraud and money laundering.
Tit-for-tat seizures are on the rise as Tehran and Washington clash in the Middle East.
This means a freeze on any assets they hold inside the EU and a ban on travel to the bloc. EU companies are also banned from making funds available to those under sanctions.
"Treasury will continue to enforce its sanctions against Iran’s military procurement efforts that contribute to regional insecurity and global instability."
Iranian media reported that Moscow expressed readiness to invest in Iran's steel, oil and petrochemical industries.
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