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Janet Yellen has warned Iran that “nothing is off the table” if Tehran is linked to this week’s armed attack on Israel, even as the U.S. Treasury secretary stressed no decision has been made on economic sanctions.
Yellen told a news conference in Marrakesh on Wednesday that the United States was “constantly monitoring” its sanctions policy against Iran, Hamas and Hezbollah. She added that Washington would “use available information” to adjust its approach and condemn attacks on Israel in “the strongest possible terms.”
Responding to a question about what actions the United States plans to take, she told reporters: “I wouldn’t rule anything out in terms of possible future actions, but I certainly don’t want to get ahead of us on that. “In September, Iran’s oil assets worth US$6 billion were frozen.
As part of last month’s prisoner swap between Iran and the United States, the United States transferred $6 billion from South Korea to an account in Qatar to ease tensions with Iran.
Speaking at the annual meetings of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank on Wednesday, Yellen said the funds “have not been used” and remain in Qatar for purely humanitarian purposes.
Yellen’s comments came after U.S. national security adviser Jake Sullivan said on Tuesday that Iran “complicit in this attack” as a supporter of Hamas. Although he said the United States had no information confirming that Tehran was directly responsible for planning or directing the attack, the United States was still investigating the issue and seeking to establish the facts.
Yellen’s comments come as the death toll continues to rise in Israel and Gaza. Israel reported 1,200 people were killed in Hamas’ deadly weekend incursion, and the Palestinian Authority reported 1,055 people were killed in subsequent bombardments of the Gaza Strip by Israeli forces. Separately, Israel said it had recovered the bodies of 1,500 Hamas fighters.
Joe Biden’s administration is facing growing pressure to take further action to help Israel. On Tuesday, South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott, the top Republican on the Senate Banking Committee, called on Yellen to testify “as soon as possible” on the shortcomings of U.S. sanctions policy on Iran, including $6 billion in sanctions. Recently transferred.
“In the face of evil, we must use every tool, weapon and economic sanction at our disposal to keep our country and Israel safe,” Scott said. “The American people and our closest ally in the Middle East, Israel, deserve transparency and answers.”
Several Democratic senators facing tough re-election campaigns next year have also called on the government to freeze Iranian assets, including Jon Tester of Montana, Joe Manchin of West Virginia, and Bob Kaye of Pennsylvania. West and Tammy Baldwin of Wisconsin.
“The United States should freeze $6 billion in Iranian assets until I am completely convinced that Iran was not involved in these brutal terrorist attacks against the people of Israel,” Baldwin said in a statement on Wednesday.
Critics of the Biden administration’s approach toward Tehran say the Biden administration has been lax in enforcing oil sanctions as part of its efforts to resume talks with Iran over its nuclear program.
Yellen said the United States “has not eased sanctions on Iranian oil in any way, and we have sanctions on Hamas and Hezbollah.”
She emphasized that her focus now was “on the human beings affected by these brutal attacks by Israel,” but noted that she was monitoring the potential economic impact of the crisis.
“I don’t really think that’s the main driver of the global economic outlook,” she added.
In 2018, then-U.S. President Trump withdrew the United States from the Iran deal and imposed hundreds of sanctions on Tehran, and Iran responded by actively increasing its nuclear activities.
Diplomats view the prisoner exchange and the transfer of $6 billion in funds as confidence-building measures that could help set the stage for future negotiations between the United States and Iran.
Additional reporting by Lauren Fedor in Washington
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