US hits head of Iran’s central bank with terror sanctions

Drew Angerer | Bloomberg | Getty Images

Valiollah Seif, governor of Iran’s central bank.

The Trump administration is designating the head of Iran’s central bank as a terrorist and hitting him with sanctions intended to further isolate Iran from the global financial system.

The Treasury Department accuses Valiollah Seif of helping transfer millions of dollars to Hezbollah, the Iran-backed militant group. Seif is the governor of the Iranian central bank. He’s being named a “specially designated global terrorist.”

Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin says Seif “covertly funneled” money from the Iran’s Revolutionary Guards through al-Bilad Islamic Bank in Iraq to help Hezbollah. The Iraqi bank and its chairman is also being punished with sanctions.

The U.S. says it’s also imposing so-called secondary sanctions on Seif. That means anyone who does business with him could be cut off from the U.S. financial system.