Sanctions hurting Iran, but still no change
Shavua tov, a good week to everyone. State Department Under Secretary for Political Affairs William F. Burns and Treasury Under Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence Stuart Levey told the House Foreign Affairs Committee this week that the sanctions that were imposed on Iran are hurting that country's economy, but that hurt has not resulted in any change in Iran's pursuit of nuclear weapons.
Burns was joined before the House Foreign Affairs Committee by Stuart Levey, Treasury's Under Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence, who detailed the various sanctions imposed by the U.S. and the United Nations, and his office's efforts to enforce them. Treasury officials have visited 24 countries in recent months to persuade governments and businesses to watch out for possible violations.Who will blink first? Unfortunately, it doesn't look like it's going to be the Iranians.
As a result, "Iran has dramatically reduced access to financial services from reputable banks, and is finding it increasingly difficult to conduct major transactions in dollars or euros," Levey said. "With great regularity, major companies are announcing that they have curtailed or completely pulled out of business dealings with Iran."
Iran has taken to trying to hide its role "in transactions by removing or stripping their names from transaction documents," Levey said. Oil companies are not investing in new projects in Iran and other contracts have been canceled.
That's contributing to an escalating unemployment rate, especially among people younger than 30 years old. That is helping fuel internal political dissatisfaction and the Iranian Revolutionary Guard – a key target of the sanctions plan – "is taking increasing control over significant portions of the Iranian economy," Levey said.
Labels: Iran sanctions regime, Iranian nuclear program, Stuart Levey, William Burns
posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 6:14 PM
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