The State Department praised Paraguay April 24 for designating Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) a terrorist organization and expanding 2019 terrorist designations for the armed wings of Hamas and Hezbollah to cover the entirety of those organizations. “The important steps Paraguay has taken will help cut off the ability of the Iranian regime and its proxies to plot terrorist attacks and raise money for its malignant and destabilizing activity, including in the Tri-Border Area Paraguay shares with Argentina and Brazil,” the department said.
The U.K. extended the general sanctions license permitting insolvency-related payments and activities involving GTLK Europe and GTLK Capital until July 31, 2030. The license specifically permits any individual or corporation to "make, receive or process any payments, or take any other action, in connection with any Insolvency Proceedings, whether prior to or after the commencement of such proceedings." The license had been slated to expire July 31, 2025.
The U.K. dropped 12 entities from its Syria sanctions regime on April 24, including major government ministries and media outlets, according to a notice from the Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation. Those entities are the Ministry of Interior, Ministry of Defence, General Intelligence Directorate, Air Force Intelligence Agency, Political Security Directorate, Syrian National Security Bureau, Military Intelligence Directorate, Army Supply Bureau, General Organisation of Radio and TV, Al Watan, Cham Press TV and Sama TV.
The U.S. should designate the Polisario Front as a foreign terrorist organization (FTO) for its destabilizing activities in North Africa, according to a new Hudson Institute report.
The U.K. Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation on April 23 added three FAQs to address issues surrounding the use of sanctions licenses that mention Rosbank PJSC and Bank Otkritie.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio told Trinidad and Tobago Prime Minister Stuart Young that he will work very closely with Young's administration "to find a solution that achieves U.S. objectives regarding Venezuela without harming Trinidad and Tobago."
The Office of Foreign Assets Control sanctioned Iranian national and liquified petroleum gas (LPG) magnate Seyed Asadoollah Emamjomeh and his corporate network April 22, saying they shipped hundreds of millions of dollars’ worth of Iranian LPG and crude oil to foreign markets, which generated revenue for Iran’s nuclear and ballistic missile programs and terrorism proxies.
The Trump administration hasn't yet indicated what it wants to do about the roughly $300 billion in Russian assets that the U.S. and its allies froze after Russia’s February 2022 invasion of Ukraine, the Brookings Institution said in a commentary April 16.
Chinese electric vehicle battery producer Contemporary Amperex Technology Co. Ltd. (CATL) is trying to get itself taken off the Defense Department's Section 1260H list of Chinese military companies, since it believes its listing was a mistake, a company spokesperson said late April 18.
The U.S. government, which provided limited sanctions relief to Syria in January, is examining options to further ease those measures, such as through waivers and licenses (see 2501060034), the State Department told Senate Banking Committee ranking member Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., in a letter she publicly released April 16.