The US on Monday sanctioned former Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad shortly after Washington secured the release of five American detainees who had been held for years in Evin prison.
Mr Ahmadinejad was sanctioned for having provided support to Iran's Ministry of Intelligence and Security, which was also designated for its involvement in the hostage-taking or wrongful detention of US citizens.
“Today’s action targets Mahmoud Ahmadinejad for enabling the wrongful detention of our citizens, causing immeasurable pain and suffering for both the victims and their families,” said Brian Nelson, Treasury's undersecretary for terrorism and financial intelligence.
Iran's Ministry of Intelligence and Security was involved in the detentions of former FBI agent Robert Levinson, as well as hikers Shane Bauer, Joshua Fattal and Sara Shourd during Mr Ahmadenijad's term in office, from 2005-2013.
The three hikers were eventually released, but Mr Levinson remains missing and is presumed dead, the Treasury Department said in a news release.
As part of the deal to secure the release of the five detained Americans, the US released five Iranians and unfroze $6 billion in Iranian funds.
US National Security Council spokesman John Kirby first announced the sanctions while the five American detainees were in transit from Iran to Qatar. He added that the sanctions would not complicate the deal.
“All this was carefully choreographed,” he told CNN.
Mr Kirby also said Monday's sanctions display to Tehran that the US will “hold Iran accountable”.
The released Americans arrived in Doha on Monday.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Sole survivors
- Cecelia Crocker was on board Northwest Airlines Flight 255 in 1987 when it crashed in Detroit, killing 154 people, including her parents and brother. The plane had hit a light pole on take off
- George Lamson Jr, from Minnesota, was on a Galaxy Airlines flight that crashed in Reno in 1985, killing 68 people. His entire seat was launched out of the plane
- Bahia Bakari, then 12, survived when a Yemenia Airways flight crashed near the Comoros in 2009, killing 152. She was found clinging to wreckage after floating in the ocean for 13 hours.
- Jim Polehinke was the co-pilot and sole survivor of a 2006 Comair flight that crashed in Lexington, Kentucky, killing 49.
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Director: Mahdi Fleifel
Starring: Mahmoud Bakri, Aram Sabbah, Mohammad Alsurafa
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Founders: Michele Ferrario, Nino Ulsamer and Freddy Lim
Started: established in 2016 and launched in July 2017
Based: Singapore, with offices in the UAE, Malaysia, Hong Kong, Thailand
Sector: FinTech, wealth management
Initial investment: $500,000 in seed round 1 in 2016; $2.2m in seed round 2 in 2017; $5m in series A round in 2018; $12m in series B round in 2019; $16m in series C round in 2020 and $25m in series D round in 2021
Current staff: more than 160 employees
Stage: series D
Investors: EightRoads Ventures, Square Peg Capital, Sequoia Capital India
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
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- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
