US slaps sanctions on Syrian president, top aides

The United States sanctioned Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and six senior officials on Wednesday in an escalation of pressure on his government to halt its brutal crackdown on protesters.

Targeting Assad personally with sanctions, which the United States and European Union avoided until now, is a significant slap at Damascus and raises questions about whether Washington and the West may ultimately seek Assad's removal from power.

A senior US official said the new sanctions -- which freeze any assets belonging to Assad and his aides that fall within US jurisdiction -- were aimed at forcing the Syrian leader to make good on pledges of political reform. It was not clear what assets, if any, would be blocked.

"President Assad has a clear choice: either to lead this transition to democracy or to leave," the official, speaking on condition of anonymity, told reporters.

US President Barack Obama, in a letter to congressional leaders, said the new moves were a response to the "continuous escalation of violence against the people of Syria."

"The actions the administration has taken today send an unequivocal message to President Assad, the Syrian leadership, and regime insiders that they will be held accountable for the ongoing violence and repression in Syria," said acting under secretary for terrorism and financial intelligence David Cohen said in a statement.

"President al-Assad and his regime must immediately end the use of violence, answer the calls of the Syrian people for a more representative government, and embark upon the path of meaningful democratic reform."

Syrian activists say at least 700 civilians have been killed in two months of clashes between government forces and protesters seeking an end to Assad's 11-year rule. The protests in Syria began after demonstrations toppled authoritarian leaders in Tunisia and Egypt.

Beyond the asset freeze, the treasury department move generally bars American people and companies from dealing with the Syrian officials.

In addition to Assad, the sanctions target vice-president Farouq al-Shara, Prime Minister Adel Safar, interior minister Mohammad Ibrahim al-Shaar and defence minister Ali Habib as well as Abdul Fatah Qudsiya, head of military intelligence, and Mohammed Dib Zaitoun, director of the political security directorate.

The treasury also widened sanctions imposed in April to cover 10 more people and entities, including Syrian military intelligence agencies and two senior members of Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps, which Washington accuses of assisting the Syrian crackdown.

US officials were unable to estimate how many Syrian assets in the United States might be affected by the move. But  one official said the measure could have a broad impact if other countries follow suit.

"Many financial institutions around the world also take, on a voluntary basis, complementary action and freeze assets so the amplification effect of that may be quite significant," the senior US official told reporters on condition of anonymity.

European governments agreed on Tuesday to tighten sanctions against the Syrian leadership but said they would decide next week whether to target Assad. U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and European Union foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton discussed the next steps on Syria on Tuesday.

"We're looking forward in the next week or so to some additional action by the EU," the US official said.

The new sanctions follow a first round that Obama approved last month against Syria's intelligence agency and two relatives of Assad for alleged human rights abuses.

The EU has put 13 Syrian officials on its sanctions list in what it described as a move to gradually increase pressure.

The 10 new targets added to the US treasury's existing sanctions list include Hafiz Makhluf, an Assad cousin and Syrian General Intelligence Directorate official, the military and air force intelligence agencies, and the Syrian National Security Bureau, an element of Assad's ruling Ba'ath party.

Also named were Qasem Soleimani, commander of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps - Quds Force, and Mohsen Chizari, another senior Quds Force official.

The expanded sanctions also covered three companies and one corporate official associated with Rami Makhlouf, a cousin of Assad who owns Syria's largest phone company Syriatel and several large firms in the oil and construction sectors.

Makhlouf was designated by the Treasury in 2008 for benefiting from and aiding corruption of Syrian officials.