Steps announced this week by New Zealand, the United States and the European Union target Russia- and Iran-linked people, a bank, exchange houses and defence-industry networks through different legal routes.
Geopolitics··Evening
New listings
New Zealand's package announced on August 8 adds 33 targets supporting Russia to its sanctions list. In the account carried by RNZ, Foreign Minister Winston Peters said the targets include cyber actors, people connected to the forced relocation, abduction and re-education of Ukrainian children, supporters of Russia's military-industrial complex, and North Koreans and Iranians supporting Moscow. The government calls it its thirty-sixth round since the Russia Sanctions Act took effect in March 2022. The European Union also listed five people linked to Russia's military-industrial complex on August 7. European Pravda reported that the decision followed the Council's July 23 adoption of a package covering energy, financial services and crypto assets. These two actions add names to existing sanction arrangements aimed at Russia-linked people and networks; each rests on statements by its own responsible institutions.[1], [4]
The Senate vote
The US Senate passed a Russia and Iran sanctions bill by 86 to 11, according to Al Jazeera. The text would open the way to tariffs of up to 100 per cent on countries importing Russian oil and gas, and it targets clandestine maritime networks used to evade Western embargoes. That step does not mean the bill's new measures are directly in force. It now goes to the House of Representatives, where Al Jazeera reports a vote will take place no earlier than early September because of the summer recess. The Senate's approval is therefore one stage in a legislative process for possible new sanctions and tariffs. The actions announced by New Zealand, the US Treasury and the European Union, by contrast, rest on sanctions decisions and listings published by those institutions. The week's developments show that the sanctions agenda is moving through separate legislative, administrative-listing and regional processes rather than through one decision chain.[2]
Banks and exchange houses
The US Treasury Department designated Iran's Shahr Bank and two Dubai-based exchange houses, Titan Exchange and Alps International, according to CBS News. Treasury says the two businesses helped the bank retrieve oil revenue for major Iranian exporters, and it alleges that Titan Exchange held tens of millions of dollars on Shahr Bank's behalf. CBS News describes the action as the administration's eighth Iran-related sanctions round. Those allegations reflect Treasury's assessment; the report does not offer independent verification. The common element across the four reports is that sanctions are directed separately at people, financial institutions, exchange intermediaries and defence-industry links. The sources do not establish a shared operational chain between these actions. Still, the decisions announced in the same week place Russia- and Iran-linked economic and military-support networks under sanction tools in more than one capital.[3], [1], [4], [2]
