The U.S. Treasury has outlined a number of mechanisms that Iran is using to evade sanctions meant to induce the country to increase transparency around its atomic program, which is widely suspected of having a clandestine weapons component. The Iranians are using, according to Treasury officials, private exchange houses and trading companies in third-party countries, masking transactions with fake identities, and relying on a paperless practice in which money is transferred informally and often illegally through trustworthy couriers. Both the U.S. and Israel have drawn “red lines” beyond which officials have insisted that Iran’s program must not be allowed to progress. A top U.S. diplomat and foreign policy veteran argued that harsh sanctions have brought Iran to a decision point, and that the U.S. administration will have to respond accordingly in the coming year.

[Photo: David Holt London / Flickr]