Among them, Asma al-Assad ... Washington imposes new sanctions on individuals and entities in Syria

Today, Tuesday, the United States imposed new sanctions on Syria, targeting the Central Bank of Syria and blacklisting a number of individuals and entities, as part of its ongoing efforts to cut funding to the regime of President Bashar al-Assad.

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said in a statement that his ministry had also imposed sanctions on Asma al-Assad, the British-born wife of the Syrian president, accusing her of obstructing efforts to reach a political solution to the war, along with a number of her family members.

Pompeo added that his country will continue to strive to hold accountable those who prolong this conflict.

For its part, the US Treasury Department said in a separate statement that the new sanctions add two individuals, 9 commercial entities and the Central Bank of Syria to the sanctions list.

Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said in a statement that the Caesar Act - signed by President Donald Trump a year ago - is an important step in holding the Assad regime accountable for the atrocities it has committed against its own people.

He stressed that the Treasury Department will continue to use all its tools to expose those who stand by the Assad regime and enable these crimes to continue, adding that the US State Department imposed sanctions on 6 other people.

According to the statement, the Treasury Department aims, through this measure, to prevent any future investments in the Syrian areas under the control of the government, to force the regime to stop its horrific actions against the Syrian people, and to push it to adhere to the process led by the United Nations.

The statement added that the United States will continue to stand with the Syrian people, as the United States has provided more than 12 billion dollars since the beginning of the conflict to help the needy Syrians.

It is noteworthy that Syria is subject to sanctions from the United States and the European Union that have led to the freezing of foreign assets owned by the state and hundreds of companies and individuals, and Washington already prohibits exports to Syria and Americans' investment there, as well as transactions related to oil and gas products.