The US government on Monday declared the entire banking sector of Iran, including the Central Bank of Iran (CBI) as a threat to other governments and institutions by designating Iran as an area of “primary money laundering concern.” The designation will require monitoring by US banks to make sure that they and their foreign affiliates are avoiding all contact with Iranian financial institutions. Britain and Canada joined the US in this action.
Pressure has been mounting on Iran since the IAEA revealed in its report last week the “possible military dimensions” to Iran’s nuclear activities, citing evidence indicating that Iran has carried out activities “relevant to the development of a nuclear explosive device.”
“Any and every financial transaction with Iran poses grave risk of supporting those activities, so financial institutions around the world should think hard about the risks of doing business with Iran,” said US Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner in a joint press conference with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.
The US also imposed sanctions on Iran's petrochemical industry, prohibiting US companies from providing goods, services and technology to support Iran's production of petrochemicals.
The sanctions would not directly target trade in Iranian oil. They could, however, make it increasingly difficult for oil companies and traders to obtain bank financing to trade Iranian crude.
Here we go again. US is a deadbeat loser which has hardly any trade with Eyeran. The collection of poodles like tiny UK and Zionist led Canada is hardly going to undermine Iranian resolve. This is one issue that has united Iran.
ReplyDeleteThere is no expanding.. when there is no transaction then its only the same song being played to make noise for the sake of noise.
ReplyDeleteThe regime will and is going to pay a very heavy price.Anybody that doesn't see that is a complete idiot.
ReplyDelete"The regime will and is going to pay a very heavy price.Anybody that doesn't see that is a complete idiot."
ReplyDeleteSO let me guess..You must be a complete genius because you can see this?NO?
Tell me how this is any different from any other sanctions they've imposed. Iran and the US have virtually no transaction. Same can be said about debt ridden UK and the Napoleonic France. If anything, the EU's disintegrating and they're just scrambling to prevent the inevitable with silly patch work they call austerity.
Iran has something the world needs - Gas and Oil and countries won't be sleeping in the winter cold just to please the US.
So yes, smart guy, the regime will pay a heavy price - but not when Iran's sitting a huge deposits of Oil and Gas.Depends on which way you look at it.
I am certain that the government of Iran does not follow the lead of people who keep saying, without any sense of responsibility, that these sanctions are immaterial and there is no need to take them seriously, and by implication no need to have a policy in place to reverse these sanctions. Such talks probably come from folks who have no real responsibility in running any part of the country’s economy or share in its governance. Dismissing these sanctions so carelessly is indeed dangerous for Iran’s future and against the country’s national interest.
ReplyDeleteBut I do agree with many commentators on this blog that until Iran’s oil exports are not directly targeted, there would be no crippling disruption of economic activities and growth in the country. As long as the Western economies remain in such a dire state of instability, Iran with its direct exports of some 2 million bpd of crude and its strategic location on the main waterway of crude oil transport to the world remains in a strong position to absorb the economic sanctions, notwithstanding their increasing costs on the country’s economy at atime of economic and political uncertainty internally.
So Mr. Nader, what do you suggest Iranian leaders do? Sit down and cry about how unfair the sanction are?
ReplyDeleteI suppose you still believe the sanctions is about Iran's nuclear program??NO?
Again, I ask the question, How exactly is this latest sanctions any different from the previous "crippling" sanctions(as the like to call them) against Iran over the past 30 years?
If anything, they're rather making Iran more determined and if they don't have the bomb yet, these threats of war and sanction will make Iran actually build the bomb.Something the West claim they're seeking to avoid.
Iran exports her oil products to countries like Afghanistan,Iraq, Pakistan, Armenia etc etc.
The question here is, what if these sanctions fail to change Iran's behaviour as they wish? In fact, there's nothing else left to sanction apart from Iran's central bank.But that in itself will be technically an act of war and Iran will surely retaliate.So if these sanctions are geared towards bringing Iran towards a peaceful resolution, I'm afraid they've rather increased the chances for conflict by 100 fold which the West will suffer greatly.
Anon 3:27 AM,
ReplyDeleteThis is not an emotional issue, and no needs for crying. The government leaders are too wise and experienced not to come up of with a revised plan on the face of these sanctions, which has expanded the previous banking sanctions and would make dealings with foreign banks that much more complicated. In the long run, however, the government needs to reevaluate its policies. It does not need to teach the West “a lesson,” as some are advocating; instead it needs to act solely to expand the national interests of Iran and to ensure strengthening its commerce and commercial ties in this rapidly shrinking globe.
Anon 5:42 PM
ReplyDeleteLets just say that Iran (meaning the Iranian people)will pay a heavy price and of course the regime with it's thievery will benefit and line their deep pockets greatly while treating the Iranian nation with utter contempt.
So you see how shallow your mind is you relate the shambolic and rapacious regime to the people of Iran while in reality they are nothing but occupying and raping the country and it's resources.
It doesn't take a genius to see that but certainly there are many disingenuous comments coming from the regime apologists on this site.