The Trump administration on Thursday slapped sanctions on 18 Iranian banks, further crippling the Iranian economy and stripping its access to the global financial system.
Iran’s entire financial sector is now subject to U.S. sanctions, according to the Treasury Department.
The new sanctions will stop Iran from accessing U.S. dollars, the primary global currency used by most financial institutions. All of the banks were identified as supporting Iran’s nuclear program, missile development, global terrorism enterprise, and its network of terror proxy groups, according to the Treasury Department.
"Our sanctions programs will continue until Iran stops its support of terrorist activities and ends its nuclear programs," Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said in a statement. "Today’s actions will continue to allow for humanitarian transactions to support the Iranian people."
Several of the banks impacted by the sanctions are tied to Iran’s ministry of defense and armed forces. Many of them also work in tandem with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, which controls large swaths of the Iranian economy.