U.S. Urges Allies To Be Vigilant Regarding Iran's Financial Dealings

U.S. allies and partners should work harder to ensure Iran does not deceive them into funding Tehran's "nefarious activities," the U.S. Treasury Department said on June 5.

"You must harden your financial networks, require your companies to do extra due diligence to keep them from being caught in Iran’s deceptive web, and make clear the very significant risks of doing business with companies and persons in Iran," Undersecretary of the Treasury Sigal Mandelker said in Washington.

"To those in the private sector, I urge you to also take additional steps to ensure Iran and its proxies are not exploiting your companies to support their nefarious activities," she said.

President Donald Trump on May 8 announced that the United States was leaving a landmark 2015 deal that Iran signed with world powers to curb its nuclear program in exchange for sanctions relief.

Trump also announced he was reinstating trade sanctions on Iran and against those countries that keep doing business with it.

"The Iranian regime will deceive your companies, undermine the integrity of your financial systems, and put your institutions at risk of our powerful sanctions, all to fund terrorism, human rights abuses, and terrorist groups," Mandelker said.

"You must be proactive in these efforts as Iran continues to search for ways to take advantage of your companies and countries," Mandelker added.

With reporting by Reuters