Iran central bank sanctions in US “toolbox”: Treasury

Reuters: U.S. sanctions banning transactions with Iran's central bank is among options in the Bush administration's "toolbox" to pressure Iran to limit its nuclear program, a senior U.S. Treasury official said on Thursday.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. sanctions banning transactions with Iran's central bank is among options in the Bush administration's "toolbox" to pressure Iran to limit its nuclear program, a senior U.S. Treasury official said on Thursday.

Daniel Glaser, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Terrorist Financing and Financial Crimes, told lawmakers that the Treasury wanted to continue to work with the international financial community to isolate Tehran before taking that step.

"Taking action against the central bank of Iran is an extraordinary step. It is certainly something that is within our toolbox," Glaser told the U.S. House of Representatives Foreign Affairs committee."

(Reporting by David Lawder, Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)