Haaretz
Nisan 27, 5766
An official U.S. terrorism
finance expert arrives here Tuesday to discuss economic measures against
Iran and the Palestinian Hamas government. The official, Stuart Levey, is
Under Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence in the Department
of the Treasury.
It was reported this week that Washington was
planning a "financial assault" on Iran that would include targeting
Iranian bank accounts in Europe and Iranian-owned financial institutions.
Israel and the U.S. are also cooperating in efforts to prevent the
transfer of funds to the Hamas government.
Levey is in charge of
financial aspects of the administration's war on terror, mainly blocking
financial channels of international terror and imposing economic sanctions
on rogue states. He previously served as anti-terror coordinator in the
Justice Department.
Levey will meet senior officials in the
Foreign Ministry, National Security Council, the Mossad and probably with
Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni as well.
Livni met Spanish Foreign
Minister Miguel Moratinos on Tuesday and told him that as long as Hamas
was running the Palestinian Authority, the international community should
present a united front against it.
She cautioned that Hamas
leaders would make seemingly moderate statements to obtain legitimacy and
financing.