All it takes is reading the article to see why it was done. You clearly did not do that and instead inserted your own agenda.
I did read the article and drew the conclusion I just stated. Feel free to offer your own take.
While he certainly wasn’t sensitive about how he said it, he did state is was sanctions related.
He was not clear on that at all. For all we know it could be an excuse among the several vague ones he gave or a reference to pressure from Feds.