US slaps new trade sanctions against Syria

It is a bid to starve the regimes in both Tehran and Damascus of much-needed revenue.This kind of trade allows Iran to continue developing its nuclear program while providing the Syrian government with resources to oppress its own people, US State Department spokesman Patrick Ventrell said in a statement.Citing Syria and Irans two-way trade in the energy sector, in which Syria sent 33,000 metric tons of gasoline to Iran in April, a deal said to be worth $36 million, the department said the measure should send a stark message.Though these sanctions are a direct result of Syrias provision of gasoline to Iran, the United States views Irans broader support for the Assad regime as completely unjustifiable, Ventrell said.Iran is actively advising, supplying, and assisting the Syrian security forces and regime-backed militias that are carrying out gross human rights abuses against the Syrian people.The State Department announcement came as the US Treasury said it was adding the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah, which has close ties with Iran, to a blacklist of organizations targeted under Syria-related sanctions.Iranian officials have boasted about Irans support to Assad, Ventrell said. Irans actions in Syria underscore its fear of losing its only remaining ally in the Middle East and an important conduit to Hezbollah.Todays sanctions action sends a stark message: the United States stands resolutely against sales of refined petroleum product to Iran and will employ all available measures to bring it to a halt, Ventrell added.