US official to talk to UK, Germany on Iran sanctions

Reuters: A senior U.S. official will travel to Britain, Germany and Switzerland next week to discuss how to enforce sanctions against the central bank of Iran, the Treasury Department said on Friday.

WASHINGTON Jan 27 (Reuters) – A senior U.S. official will travel to Britain, Germany and Switzerland next week to discuss how to enforce sanctions against the central bank of Iran, the Treasury Department said on Friday.

The trip by David Cohen, the Treasury Department’s undersecretary for terrorism and financial intelligence, comes after Europe followed the United States and decided to slap sanctions on the Iranian central bank, which acts as a conduit for Iran’s oil revenues.

The sanctions are aimed at starving Iran of funds needed to develop and obtain nuclear weapons. Iran denies that its nuclear program is intended to develop weapons. (Reporting By Rachelle Younglai)