State Department says shutdown has ‘totally depleted’ Iran sanctions office

{mosads}Sherman said the Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control has been “completely, virtually utterly depleted.”

“We do not have our full intelligence committee,” Sherman said, “[and] the State Department is putting restrictions on travel by State Department employees and we use our sanctions team to travel the world to go after sanctions evaders and folks who aren’t following through so it will impair our ability to do that.”

“We will do our best to enforce sanctions, to stop sanctions evaders, but I sincerely hope that the shutdown ends soon so that we are truly able to do so in these negotiations proceed.”

The shutdown’s impact on Iran sanctions was first reported Wednesday by The Daily Beast.

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