U.S. targets Iranian banks

(Trying to start yet another war...)

By LAURA ROZEN | 6/16/10

The Obama administration announced Wednesday the addition of almost two dozen more Iranian entities and individuals to the U.S. sanctions list, taking advantage of a new U.N. resolution in a bid to persuade Congress to give the White House more flexibility in the final version of Iran sanctions legislation.

Under Secretary of Treasury for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence Stuart Levey, said the list includes 17 more Iranian banks, Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps-linked construction and energy firms and individuals, as well as 27 Iranian-government front companies.

“We know that officials in Iran have been anxious about this new round of sanctions,” Levey said. “If the Iranian government holds true to form, it will scramble to identify “work-arounds” – hiding behind front companies, doctoring wire transfers, falsifying shipping documents. We will continue to expose this deception thereby reinforcing the very reasons why the private sector is increasingly shunning Iran.”

The move came after European Union foreign ministers, meeting in Luxembourg, announced that the EU would be implementing their own track of strong sanctions divesting from Iranian energy, banking and transport sectors under Security Council Resolution 1929, approved earlier this month.

The additions won strong praise from Rep. Howard Berman (D-Calif.) who leads a conference committee working to reconcile House- and Senate-passed Iran sanctions legislation.

“These designations strengthen our anti-proliferation efforts in several sectors, as urged by that resolution, including the financial, transportation, and energy sectors and Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. They also underscore the importance of the Obama administration’s remarkable diplomatic achievement in winning UN Security Council support for UNSCR 1929.”

Berman did not indicate in the statement whether he would agree to the administration’s request for more flexibility in the legislation, separate versions of which passed both houses by comfortable margins. The administration wants Congress to exempt from sanctions those countries and international organizations such as the EU that have worked to vigorously support the international effort to pressure Iran over its nuclear program.

Key European allies, including those who were most supportive of U.N. sanctions, have told Washington they oppose what they call “extraterritorial” U.S. unilateral sanctions that would aim to penalize third-country entities, including their own firms. Both bills contain provisions authorizing U.S. sanctions against foreign firms dealing with Iran.

Berman and Sen. Chris Dodd (D-Conn.) met with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on the issue late last week. Clinton appointed her top nonproliferation adviser, Bob Einhorn, to be the U.S. coordinator for Iran and North Korea sanctions.



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