transcript - MR. GIBBS: So we’re going to do this in a little bit different order. We’re going to start today with Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner and Under Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence Stuart Levey to announce a new round of Iran sanctions and designations. And for any of those that are interested, Stuart, and Bob Einhorn from the State Department, will be doing a pen and pad briefing on this later this afternoon at the Treasury Department. Mr. Secretary. SECRETARY GEITHNER: Thanks, Robert. Over the past year, President Obama has pursued a broad international strategy to address the world’s concerns over Iran’s nuclear program. A critical step in that strategy came last week when the United Nations Security Council adopted the toughest sanctions ever imposed on the Iranian government. Today, the United States is taking our first steps to implement and build on that resolution. We are adding to our list of sanction entities a number of institutions and individuals who are helping Iran finance nuclear and missile programs and to evade international sanctions. Our actions today are designed to deter other governments and foreign financial institutions from dealing with these entities and thereby supporting Iran’s illicit activities. Let me briefly describe each of these actions. First, we are designating Iran’s Post Bank for its support of proliferation activities. This brings the number of Iranian-owned banks on our list to 16. Second, we are adding five front companies and more than 90 ship names that Iran’s national maritime carrier has been using to try to evade sanctions. Third, we are adding two individuals and four entities that are part of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard, which as you know, plays a key role in Iran’s missile programs and its support for terrorism. Fourth, we are adding two individuals and two entities that are actively involved in Iran’s nuclear or missile programs. And finally, we are identifying 22 petroleum, energy, and insurance companies, located inside and outside Iran, which are owned or controlled by the Iranian government. Now, shortly, Stuart Levey, who is Treasury’s Under Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence, is going to walk you through the details of these actions. Stuart Levey, as you know, has been the chief architect of our strategy to impose growing financial costs on Iran for its continued defiance, and he has played a major leadership role on this issue internationally. In the coming weeks, we will continue to increase the financial pressure on Iran. We will continue to target Iran’s support for terrorist organizations. We will continue to focus on Iran’s Revolutionary Guard. We will continue to expose Iran’s efforts to evade international sanctions. Now, to be truly effective in ending Iran’s proliferation activities and Iran’s support for terrorism, we need to have in place a concerted international approach. This is not something the United States can do alone. We need other countries to move with us. So alongside our efforts in the U.N. to build international support for sanctions, we have been working behind the scenes building support among finance ministries for additional actions to prevent abuse of the global financial system by Iran. We expect to see additional actions announced by other governments soon. The types of steps we are taking today have been remarkably effective. When major financial institutions, companies around the world, discover they are actually working with Iranian companies that support Iran’s nuclear or missile programs, they realize it’s not worth the risk; they cut off their business. And over the years, these steps have made a major difference in limiting Iran’s ability to use the global financial system to finance, to pursue illicit activities. We made important progress, but we cannot stop here. Iran will never cease looking for ways to evade our sanctions, so our efforts must be ongoing and unrelenting. And we will keep working on ways to intensify financial pressure on Iran. Thank you. I'm going to give you Stuart. UNDER SECRETARY LEVEY: Thank you, Mr. Secretary. As Secretary Geithner said, we’re taking a series of steps today to impose additional consequences on Iran for its continued failure to meet its international obligations. First, we’re sanctioning an additional Iranian bank, Post Bank. At one time, Post Bank’s business was conducted almost entirely within Iran. But when some of Iran’s largest banks were exposed for financing proliferation, Iran began to use Post Bank to facilitate international trade. In fact, Post Bank stepped into the shoes of Bank Sepah, which is under United Nations sanctions, to carry out Bank Sepah’s transactions and hide its identity. International banks that would never deal with Bank Sepah have been handling these transactions that they think are really for Post Bank. Second, we’re taking additional action today