AFP, Washington, March 1, 2010  – The United States froze twice as many Iranian assets in 2009 than the year before, as it sought to clamp down on state-sponsored terrorism, the Treasury Department said on Monday.

The US blocked 43.3 million dollars worth of Iranian funds, up 19.5 million from 2008, but still a quarter of the assets frozen from Cuba.

The Treasury said 11 Iran-related properties were blocked, located in the states of California, Illinois, Maryland, New York, Texas and the US capital Washington.

The list included assets belonging to Bank Melli and Assa Corp., both of which have been linked to Iran’s controversial nuclear program.

The US has long-running sanctions on the Islamic Republic, which Washington and other powers allege is developing nuclear weapons.

The Iranian government has repeatedly denied the charges and insists its program is aimed at peaceful energy production.

The Treasury estimated there are around two billion dollars of non-blocked debt securities linked to Iran that are held in New York City.