US Imposes Banking Sanctions on Iran...again?

The U.S. Treasury has moved to further restrict Iran's access to the U.S. financial system, by banning certain money transfers.  The Treasury Department announced on Thursday that it will revoke Iran's so-called "U-Turn" license, which currently allows transfers to briefly enter the United States before being sent to offshore banks.  Until Thursday, U.S. banks were allowed to process certain money transfers for Iranian banks and other Iranian customers as long as the payments were initiated by and ended up in offshore non-U.S. and non-Iranian banks. U.S. officials say the ban is aimed at increasing financial pressure on Iran to end alleged support of terrorist groups and nuclear proliferation.  Iran is under three sets of international sanctions. It has been accused by several Western countries of seeking nuclear weapons. Tehran says its nuclear program is solely for peaceful purposes.  Separately on Thursday, Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni said any U.S. talks with Iran may be seen as a sign of weakness.  The statement was Israel first official note of caution over Barack Obama's election as U.S. president. Mr. Obama said during the campaign he would be willing to hold talks with Iranian leaders.  The Israeli government fears it could be the target of an attack by strongly anti-Israeli Iran. In a highly unusual move, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad - one of Washington's harshest critics - congratulated Mr. Obama on his victory. He said he hopes the U.S. president-elect will change American policy, which he described as arrogant.

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, in a message to the US President-elect Barack Obama, has congratulated him on his victory... The Iranian president also called on the United States to limit its interference to its own borders. "... and in particular, in the sensitive Middle East region, it is expected that the 60-year-old unjust behavior [of the US] would change into giving back the nations especially, the innocent Palestinian, Iraqi and Afghan people their full rights." ...Many believe that the election of Barack Obama has raised prospects of 'change' in US policy. Obama, with 'Change We Need' being his campaign slogan, has promised to make a change for the better in the United States and the world.
The great Iranian nation welcomes fundamental, just and real changes in the [US] policies and behavior particularly in the Middle East region, Ahmadinejad stated. The US and Iran do not have diplomatic relations. Washington severed ties with Tehran after the victory of the Islamic Revolution in 1979. Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki also on Wednesday expressed hope that Obama would "fulfill his commitments and bring change to Washington and its affairs." He said that Obama's election indicated that the American people "wholeheartedly support fundamental changes in the bedrock of US policies." DB/RA. Original source at Press TV.  

An Iranian MP says a change in Tehran's attitude towards US depends on the American administration's policies and the way it deals with Iran. “We cannot expect a fundamental change in the White House' attitude towards Iran but a (potential) change depends on Obama himself,” said the head of Iran's Parliamentary Commission for National Security and Foreign Policy Alaeddin Boroujerdi. Original source at PressTV