On 27 January, Iran Watch from the Wisconsin Project on Nuclear Arms Control published an article about the effects of the October 2020 sanctions on the Iranian financial sector, with secondary sanctions on Iran’s entire financial sector for the first time, potentially barring foreign entities from the US financial system should they do business with Iranian banks. According to the US Treasury, the October moves were part of an effort to isolate the financial sector and prevent Iran from acquiring US dollars. A simultaneous State Department press release cited Iran’s decades-long pattern of diverting financial resources to its armed forces—including, most recently, budget increases for the IRGC and the Basij, Iran’s volunteer militia, proposed by Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei in March. The article details how the “layers” of US sanctions work, through the various Executive Orders and other means.
If you would like to make a (polite) gesture and make a (very) modest contribution to my ongoing with my relocation, removal and computer costs, I have a page at https://www.buymeacoffee.com/KoIvM842y