Iranian officials are very clear on the value of their growing arsenal. Europe, with strong backing from the U.S., needs to finally turn its words into deeds.
Mr. Trump and many Republicans have been reluctant to promote democracy and civil society overseas. They would be wise to overcome this hesitation and play every card they have against the regime to build the broader base of support, at home and abroad. The clock is ticking.
Tehran must be resolutely disabused of that perception. Robustly listing Iranian violators under the Magnitsky legislation, in concert with designating the IRGC as a terrorist entity, would be important and necessary first steps to that end.
In addition to watching out for customer transactions with the listed addresses, exchanges will likely need to conduct analysis to identify any additional wallets that may be controlled by the Iranian exchangers. Treasury’s move makes it clear that malevolent actors hiding behind digital currency transactions, and those that support these activities, may also find themselves in Treasury’s crosshairs.
Escalating pressure on Damascus should be an integral part of the U.S. maximum pressure campaign against Iran, since Tehran is heavily invested in Assad and will spend scarce resources in the hopes of saving him.