Top State Department Official Says US to Continue to Impose Costs on Iran and Its Proxies
Nathan Sales signs his appointment papers to become ambassador at large and coordinator for counterterrorism at the US Department of State in Washington, DC, Sept. 29, 2017. Photo: State Department Photo.
JNS.org – The US State Department’s top counterterrorism official warned on Friday that the United States would increase its maximum pressure against Iran and its proxies.
“The good news is that Hezbollah is feeling the pinch,” said Nathan Sales at an event hosted by the Wilson Center and the Foundation for Defense of Democracies to mark the 25th anniversary of the bombing of the Mutual Israelite Association of Argentina, or AMIA, in which Iran and Hezbollah are believed to be behind the attack that killed 85 people and wounded hundreds.
“As our sanctions on the Iranian regime have taken hold, Hezbollah has had to tighten its belt. The group’s Secretary General is now publicly asking for donations. The resistance needs your support,” he continued. “We will continue to increase the financial pressure and impose costs on the Iranian regime and its terrorist proxies until they abandon their malign and outlaw behavior.”
Interpol has issued at least nine arrest warrants, or red notices, for Iranian and Hezbollah operatives suspected to be responsible for the tragedy.
Sales noted that the United States will continue to work with its allies to undermine Hezbollah’s malign activities, which includes having an active presence in Latin America.
Top US officials will partake in a Western Hemisphere anti-terrorism conference next week in Buenos Aires to mark the 1994 AMIA bombing. Additional actions against Iran and Hezbollah would be announced then, said Sales.
“We will continue to seek ways to block terrorist travel and cut off the flow of money to these groups,” he said. “Stay tuned.”