Europe completed the first transactions under INSTEX, the European payment system designed to allow countries to trade with Iran despite U.S. sanctions, according to a Feb. 26 news release from the Joint Commission of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action. During a recent meeting, the commission, which includes representatives from China, France, Germany, Russia, the United Kingdom and Iran, also said it added four more European countries as “new shareholders” in INSTEX and expects more to join. “Participants welcomed positive developments in the processing of first transactions by INSTEX,” the news release said. The news release did not name the new shareholders.
The European Council sanctioned two Turkish officials for Turkey’s illegal drilling activities (see 2001210021) in the Eastern Mediterranean, according to a Feb. 27 news release. The officials, Mehmet Ferruh Akalin and Ali Coscum Namoglu, head the state-controlled Turkish Petroleum Corporation and are responsible for the illegal “offshore hydrocarbon exploration activities,” the EU said.
The United Nations Security Council renewed sanctions on people and entities threatening peace and security in Yemen for one year, according to a Feb. 25 notice. The sanctions were renewed with 13 UN members voting in favor and two abstentions: China and Russia. The sanctions also impose an arms embargo on militias in the region loyal to former president Ali Abdullah Saleh.
The United Kingdom’s Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation updated its ISIL (Da'esh) and al-Qaida sanctions list Feb. 27 to reflect two deletions recently made by the United Nations Security Council (see 2002200013). The change removed asset freezes from Al-Mokhtar Ben Mohamed Ban Al-Mokhtar Bouchoucha and Imad Ben Bechir Ben Hamda Al-Jammali.
The U.S. renewed sanctions against Cuba to continue beyond March 1, 2020, according to a Feb. 25 White House notice. The White House said Cuba has “not demonstrated that it will refrain from the use of excessive force against United States vessels or aircraft.”
The U.S. renewed sanctions on people and entities that “undermine democratic processes” in Ukraine, according to a Feb. 25 news release from the White House. The sanctions, first issued under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act in 2014, will continue for one year after March 6, 2020, the White House said.
The United Nations Security Council added two entries to its ISIL (Da’esh) and al-Qaida Sanctions List, according to a Feb. 23 news release. The sanctions target two ISIS affiliates: the Islamic State West Africa Province and the Islamic State in the Greater Sahara. The State Department said it “welcomes” the UNSC sanctions of the two affiliates, which are “responsible for killing hundreds of innocent civilians.” The two entities were sanctioned by the U.S. in 2018.
The Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control sanctioned three Lebanon-based officials and 12 Lebanon-based entities linked to the Martyrs Foundation, which is part of Hizballah’s support network, Treasury said in a Feb. 26 press release. The designations include Atlas Holding, a company owned by the Martyrs Foundation, senior Atlas official Kassem Mohamad Ali Bazzi and 10 Atlas-affiliated companies, Treasury said. The companies operate in Lebanon’s fuel, pharmaceuticals, tourism and clothing sectors.
The Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control added Ahmad Al-Hamidawi to its Specially Designated Nationals List, according to a Feb. 26 notice. OFAC did not immediately release more information on the designation.
The State Department announced sanctions on 13 entities and people based in China, Iraq, Russia and Turkey under the Iran, North Korea, and Syria Nonproliferation Act, the agency said in a Feb. 25 news release. The sanctions target people and companies that support Iran’s missile program. The State Department said the designations are “two-year discretionary sanctions” and block all U.S. government procurement, government assistance and exports related to the people and companies.