Miad Maleki, former head of the U.S. Treasury Department’s sanctions targeting office,

Miad Maleki, the former head of the U.S. Treasury Department’s sanctions targeting office, said that restricting the Islamic Republic’s dealings with the United Arab Emirates closes one of the main routes for providing currency and imports.

He added that Tehran cannot rely on China to make up for this limitation, because Beijing is unwilling to put its economic interests in the United States at risk for the Islamic Republic.