Chinese, Iraqi Banks Sanctioned

Iran isn't the only country affected by new U.S. sanctions. President Obama announced Tuesday the U.S. would be "cutting off" China's Bank of Kunlun and the Elaf Islamic Bank in Iraq, which "facilitated transactions worth millions of dollars" for Iranian banks despite being under sanctions. Obama explained his goals in sanctioning the Chinese and Iraqi banks were to make clear "that we will expose any financial institution, no matter where they are located, that allow the increasingly desperate Iranian regime to retain access to the international financial system." Ultimately the U.S. is trying to get Iran to make serious negotiations over its nuclear program, and until it does the U.S. will continue to "look for ways to increase the impact" of sanctions against the country, the U.S.'s deputy national security adviser for strategic communications explained. "It's only going to get worse for the Iranian government."