LEAD: US announces new sanctions on Iran

Feb 6, 2012, 20:07 GMT

Washington - US President Barack Obama has expanded sanctions against the Iranian government and its central bank, the White House announced Monday.

In an executive order signed Sunday, Obama froze all the assets and property in the United States of the Iranian government, Iranian financial institutions and the Central Bank of Iran.

He pointed to 'the deceptive practices of the Central Bank of Iran and other Iranian banks' and lack of controls on money laundering as warranting additional sanctions.

Previously, US banks were required to reject Iranian financial transaction by not allowing them to pass through the US financial system, but could not freeze assets by blocking them.

The standoff with Tehran over its nuclear programme has sharpened in recent weeks with new rounds of sanctions and sharp rhetoric from Iran, including threats to shipping in the Strait of Hormuz, through which much of the world's oil passes.

Last month, the European Union approved an oil embargo on Iran, which has weighed on the Iranian currency and had other economic consequences.

White House spokesman Jay Carney said the sanctions reflect long-standing US policy toward Iran and were not in response to recent indications that Israel might preemptively order a military strike on Iran's nuclear programme.

Because the Iranian regime has not cooperated with international demands on the nuclear issue, he said, 'they continue to pursue a course that is dangerous, we will ramp up the effort to isolate and pressure the regime, working with our international allies.'

In an interviewed televised Sunday, Obama indicated that Israel had not made a decision on targeting Iran. Until Tehran takes the necessary steps to convince the international community that it only has a 'peaceful' nuclear programme, Obama said that 'Israel rightly is going to be very concerned, and we are as well.'

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