Press
Showing 1-20 of 59 Items
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Treasury Scales Back Scrutiny of U.S. Shell Companies
In The News
Alex Zerden, the founder of the risk advisory firm Capitol Peak Strategies and a former official in the Treasury Department’s Office of Terrorism and Financial Intelligence, n...
By Alex Zerden
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Trump’s Remaining Economic Levers in Iran Fraught With Risks
In The News
Secondary sanctions and further measures could also alienate key partners, while inflaming tension with China, the chief US economic rival. “It's absolutely intertwined with t...
By Alex Zerden
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Iran-Linked Crypto Exchange Handled $6.3 Billion, TRM Says
In The News
“The IRGC says one thing ideologically, such as gambling is illegal, and then runs or profits from the gambling racket,” said Alex Zerden, a former US Treasury official and ad...
By Alex Zerden
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U.S. Terror Delisting Opens Syria to Gulf Investors
In The News
“The U.S. can’t compel private businesses to actually do business in Syria,” [Alex] Zerden said. “They need to make their own independent risk-based decisions about what their...
By Alex Zerden
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Why Iran’s Limited Economic Relief Was Easy Come, Easy Go
In The News
Alex Zerden, a former Treasury official and founder of Capitol Peak Strategies, said the sanctions reflect the political dynamics at play. “It appears that the President was f...
By Alex Zerden
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Can the US Waive Sanctions on Iranian Oil?
In The News
Regardless, “we’re a long way away from full unwinding [of sanctions] and US companies entering the Iranian market,” Capitol Peak Strategies’ Alex Zerden, a former Treasury De...
By Alex Zerden
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In The News
Middle East Security / Energy, Economics & Security
Iran’s Oil Lifeline Outlasted the U.S. Assault, Strengthening Its Hand“Iran over the years and across U.S. administrations developed sophisticated sanctions evasion techniques to receive revenue from selling oil,” said Alex Zerden, a former Trea...
By Alex Zerden
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Trump Weighs Releasing Billions to Iran After Blasting Past Payments
In The News
“Based on our modeling, a lot of these potential bargaining chips look similar to those available during the Obama, Trump I and Biden administrations,” said Alex Zerden, an ad...
By Alex Zerden
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A Deal with Iran May Need Some Delusional Thinking to Work
In The News
“The fundamentals of diplomatic negotiations often require a suspension of disbelief,” said Alex Zerden, a former Treasury Department diplomat who has worked for both Republic...
By Alex Zerden
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Trump Administration Expected to Keep Waiving Russian Oil Sanctions as Iran Call Looms
In The News
“Tinkering with Iranian oil is not a sanctions question at the end of the day; it’s about the market’s general assessment of this conflict’s direction,” said Capitol Peak Stra...
By Alex Zerden
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In The News
Middle East Security / Energy, Economics & Security
U.S. Encourages Flow of Iranian Oil While It Battles Iran“Iran will likely profit from these sales, thereby providing more money to fund its regime, the war and its proxies,” said Alex Zerden, [adjunct senior fellow at the Center fo...
By Alex Zerden
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Trump’s Actions in Iran and Venezuela Show Limits of U.S. Sanctions
In The News
The United States has for years deployed a carefully designed economic statecraft playbook to pressure American adversaries to change their behavior....
By Alex Zerden
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Trump Administration’s Venezuela Approach Gets Murkier
In The News
Nearly six weeks after the Trump administration ousted Venezuela’s leader with plans to effectively run the country, its manner of doing so is increasingly opaque....
By Alex Zerden
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U.N. Security Council Removes Syria’s President from Sanctions List
In The News
The United Nations Security Council voted on Thursday to remove President Ahmed al-Shara of Syria from a terrorism sanctions list, just days before his planned visit to Washin...
By Alex Zerden
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Syria’s Fractured Banking Sector Poses New Challenge for U.S. Regulators
In The News
Syria is continuing to focus on attracting foreign investment as it seeks to be reintegrated into the global financial system, but the country’s damaged banking sector poses a...
By Alex Zerden
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In The News
Middle East Security / Energy, Economics & Security
With Trump Pressure and a ‘New Lebanon,’ Can Hezbollah’s Shadow Economy Be Dismantled?Up until a few months ago, the drive from Beirut’s international airport through the Lebanese capital city’s southern suburbs used to feature a stream of pro-Iranian and Hezbo...
By Alex Zerden
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In The News
Middle East Security / Energy, Economics & Security
EU Lifts More Syria Sanctions, but Barriers to Energy, Business RemainUS President Donald Trump's announcement set the tone for global sanctions policy on Syria, but a "labyrinth" of restrictive economic measures including sanctions will take ti...
By Alex Zerden
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In The News
Middle East Security / Energy, Economics & Security
Trump to Remove U.S. Sanctions on Syria in Major Policy ShiftPresident Donald Trump said on Tuesday he would order the lifting of sanctions on Syria at the behest of Saudi Arabia's crown prince, a major U.S. policy shift ahead of an exp...
By Alex Zerden
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In The News
Middle East Security / Energy, Economics & Security
Syria Seeks to Rebuild Oil and Gas Industry, but Needs Western BackingSyria's oil industry, along with its agriculture sector, was once the lifeblood of its economy, with international majors like Shell and TotalEnergies investing in the country...
By Alex Zerden
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Limits on Aid to Syria Threaten to Worsen the Country’s Humanitarian Crisis
In The News
In the week since President Bashar al-Assad’s government in Syria fell in a shocking conclusion to the country’s 13-year civil war, Syrians have celebrated the end of a regime...
By Alex Zerden
