The U.N. Security Council on March 11 updated the entries for 12 people on its ISIL (Da’esh) and al-Qaida sanctions list. The council updated some entries to indicate that they may have died, and it updated identifying information for the others.
The U.S. this week sanctioned Iranian Minister of Petroleum Mohsen Paknejad, along with several entities and ships helping to move Iranian oil, including to China.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control this week sanctioned the Foxtrot Network, a transnational criminal group based in Sweden, along with its leader Rawa Majid. OFAC said the group has trafficked illegal drugs and "carried out attacks on Israelis and Jews in Europe," including a January 2024 attack on the Israeli Embassy in Stockholm on behalf of the Iranian government. The agency said the designations build on President Donald Trump's February memo that ordered U.S. agencies to pursue a “maximum pressure” sanctions campaign against Iran (see 2502050020).
The Office of Foreign Assets Control last week updated several general licenses related to the Yemen-based Houthis, also known as Ansarallah, the group designated by the Trump administration as a foreign terrorist organization (see 2503040008).
The U.S. added more people and entities to sanctions and export control lists in 2024 than the previous year, with a large portion targeting Russia and China, the Center for a New American Security said this week.
Canada last week announced new sanctions against people and entities for either helping Iran acquire controlled technology or having ties to human rights violations committed by the Myanmar military regime.
The U.K. on March 7 removed Russian bank Rosbank PJSC and Turkish energy firm Active Denizcilik Ve Gemi Isletmeciligi Anonim Sirketi from its Russia sanctions list. Rosbank was sanctioned in 2023 for operating in Russia’s financial services sector, and Active Denizcilik was sanctioned last year for doing business in Russia’s energy sector. The U.K.’s Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation didn’t give a reason for their removals.
Canada this week sanctioned seven people and three entities connected to ongoing fighting in Sudan between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces. The designations target Abdel Fattah Abdelrahman al-Burhan, leader of the SAF, and Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, leader of the RSF, for their “refusal to negotiate in good faith and adhere to a permanent ceasefire,” Canada said. It also sanctioned various SAF and RSF officers along with Sudan Master Technology, a Sudanese company making weapons for SAF; Tradive General Trading L.L.C., an RSF front company; and Al Khaleej Bank, a financial institution with ties to the RSF.
The U.K. this week lifted sanctions on a range of entities that had ties to the overthrown Bashar al-Assad regime in Syria while keeping sanctions on people still connected to the regime or involved in illegal Syrian drug trade.
Although President Donald Trump has ordered his administration to reimpose maximum sanctions pressure against Iran, a State Department spokesperson on March 6 declined to say whether the U.S. plans to allow a waiver to expire this week that has authorized exports to Iraq of Iranian gas and electricity.