The US Treasury on Thursday imposed sanctions on Iran’s Bank Refah for facilitating the purchase of missiles and parts for fighter jets and submarines by the Iranian Defense Ministry.
Treasury said Bank Refah also facilitated payments from the Iran Aircraft Manufacturing Industrial Company to businesses and individuals linked to Iran's weapons-related procurement. The US Congress passed an expanded Iran sanctions act, called CISADA, last year authorizing the Treasury to take action against financial institutions involved in transactions with Iran's defense industry.
Treasury has now imposed sanctions on 20 banks owned by the government of Iran. The actions have effectively cut off international financing to these banks that together form the backbone of the banking industry in Iran.
I am sure they are shaking with fear and desperation
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Depends who are "they." I am sure the Iranian bankers and businessmen don't like this at all. Being cut off the global banking system is not fun for bankers and businessmen.
ReplyDeleteMr. Nader, in case you're not aware of what's going on in the real world banking system, let me school you a bit on what's going on.
ReplyDeleteThe real global banking system is shifting from west to east so the US doesn't matter so much.Even China and Russia are now doing trade in their own currencies.
More-so,this latest sanctions is a unilateral one imposed by US hence only affects American businessmen and American business association with Iran.Others will gladly fill the gap.
I'd be more worried if it was a UN sanctioned but that's off the cards as it's been overplayed by the US and her assorted allies.The Russians and Chinese aren't buying it anymore.
Iranian banks will feel the impact for a while but can will find "other ways"(Non-dollar) of doing business as with the recent case of India - Iran oil trade.They just found a new payment method.
In effect, the US just shot itself in the foot,AGAIN,and isolating itself more and more because i don't expect other states that matter to follow suit.Tough luck!!
Thanks for your note. I also know a thing or two about the banks in Iran. For example, I know many bankers do not share your sentiments. It is one thing to talk about the future trends and the future of global finance. It is a different thing talking to talk about the realities today and now. Please ask some of the bankers you might personally know, and see what types of effects these sanctions have already had on their banks, you'll be surprised.
ReplyDeleteIn the large scheme of things.Will it change Iran's policy?No!
ReplyDeleteProbably not. But makes it costly.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Nr Uskowi that in terms of total cost of ownership of banking transactions for Iranian business things are getting extremely costly and difficult.
ReplyDeleteRegrettably Iran’s strategic isolation (they call it independence) has resulted in extreme difficulty for Iranian businesses and bankers in general and the average man in the street in particular. For those who believe that Russia and China will be savours it is suffice to say that Russian is still predominantly an economy geared towards commodity export (oil and gas). So it is tightly coupled to dollar. In case of China, that currently has the largest dollar reserves in the World (read more than US itself), so I don’t think overnight they are going to switch to Yuan the Chinese currency.
Whether we like it or not the World banking system is still dominated, dictated and run y the US concerns. The Chinese or Russian banks do not come even near it and they are generally classed as emerging economies (emerging as it says).
This scenario reminds me of the hostage crisis when US froze the Iranian Bank accounts in US and Iran had to rely on friendly nations like Algeria and others to keep deposits in Western Banks on Iranian behalves. The only difference is that after thirty years no other nation wants to take this risk and thinks helping Iran is a worthwhile action.
The fact that with the advent of Euro, the choice for foreign currency variations has declined does not help either. To avoid further issues and I believe as a prudent move, Iran bought and imported significant gold into the country. That makes country’s finance sounder but regrettably does not help integration into world economy.
I can assure you no one likes this situation. However, ignorance and putting a brave face on it is not going to solve anything. This very obvious isolation of Iran has impacted every aspect of life in Iran. Unlike the general perception, the great strategic thread to Iran does not come from Israel or USA. It is fashionable to have a go at Zionists now for the same reason that our fathers and grand fathers saw Brits and Russians as the primary reason for their ills. It is far easier to throw than catch so to speak. Unfortunately we are good at blaming everyone else for our ills. The sad truth is that Iran has managed to alienate practically everyone. In short, what we label as independence has turned up to be International Isolation, lack of interaction, investment and technology transfer. If you look around Iran’s neighbours, there is only one country (ignoring Turkey’s transient overtures) that has been friendly and cordial with Iran and that is Christian Armenia. The rest has been troubled relationship. In short if there is not a fundamental change in Iranian outlook, I fail to see how Iran is going to get out of the current state of its isolation that engulfs business and banking systems as well.
This is part and parcel of the desperate US/Zionist axis to spread pathetic disinformation. The more Iranian government and Iranian nation progresses, the more of these typees of insidious psy-ops. BTW, even according to the FAO (Food and Agriculture Organization) Iranian wheat production increased by 20% and Iran is a net exporter of staples. Hence the rejection of the CIA suported anti-Iran thugs by a vast majority of nationalistic Iranians who support the Islamic Revolution which has given them security, dignity, prosperity and safety. Iran's is on course to its manifest destiny as a great power.
ReplyDeleteThe very reason the US/UK Zionist efforts of destabilization Iran are failing miserably is the relative prosperity and self-sufficiency in Iran. Let the enemies of Iran rot with envy and impotence.
Sometimes I wonder where all this nonsense comes from. In last Anon reply there is no single reference to sactions against Refah Bank. Sounds like the usual babble about US/Zionist conspiracy.
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