This week, the European Union went to war against Iran. There was no formal declaration, of course, nor even any undeclared use of military force. But the E.U. decision to place an embargo on Iranian oil imports, ban new contracts, and freeze Iranian Central Bank assets is effectively an act of war and may very well result in the military hostilities that sanctions are meant to forestall.
Oil exports account for over 50 percent of Iranian government revenue and about 80 percent of its hard currency earnings. And the E.U., as a bloc, is Iran’s second-largest customer, taking about a quarter of Iranian exports.… Seguir leyendo »
As the United States and its allies ratchet up economic sanctions against Iran in an effort to get the regime to abandon its nuclear program, it’s important to remember that such sanctions rarely work. It is doubtful that increased sanctions against Iran will work any better.
The United States already prohibits most transactions between U.S. and Iranian financial institutions, imposes penalties on companies that provide assistance to the Iranian petroleum industry and prohibits most trade with Iran, including the import of Iranian products, such as rugs, caviar and pistachio nuts.
Fearing that Iran is getting ever closer to producing a nuclear weapon, many U.S.… Seguir leyendo »
Just 13 minutes into his presidency, Barack Obama indirectly reached out to Iran in his inaugural address, offering America’s hand of friendship if Tehran would unclench its fist. After eight years of the George W. Bush administration’s ideological contempt for diplomacy with America’s foes, it was a bold move born out of necessity, not desire.
But Obama’s diplomacy has fallen short. After two rounds of talks in October 2009, in which Tehran refused to accept a U.S. confidence-building measure to exchange its low-enriched uranium in return for fuel for a medical research reactor, the sanctions track was activated. Ever since, Iran and the United States have been on a confrontational path.… Seguir leyendo »
In recent years, the United States has imposed punishing sanctions on Iran’s financial sector. Last month, the Treasury Department announced new measures intended to hamper Iran’s ability to raise and move funds internationally. Several Western allies have followed suit in an attempt to tighten the noose around the Islamic republic and curb its ability to achieve nuclearization. Yet a close analysis of Treasury’s action demonstrates that the new sanctions regime is far weaker than existing laws and falls short of the moves members of Congress are demanding. What is needed is not new measures, but better implementation of existing statues.
Despite four rounds of sanctions by the United Nations and a concerted effort by many Western allies, a large number of banks around the world continue to do business with Iranian financial institutions that are complicit in supporting terrorist groups and spreading nuclear weapons.… Seguir leyendo »
The release last week of the International Atomic Energy Agency’s report on Iran’s progressing nuclear program has to make one wonder whether more than 30 years of sanctions have helped to thwart — or even stall — the country’s nuclear designs. There is no evidence to suggest that economic coercion has ever made Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran’s supreme leader, rethink the risks-versus-rewards calculus for developing atomic weapons. And the truly crippling sanctions that might have more of an effect would never be accepted by Western politicians, who are fearful of higher oil costs and of being seen as too harsh on the Iranian people.… Seguir leyendo »
Last week, the Treasury Department accused the Iranian government of aiding Al Qaeda and blacklisted six Qaeda operatives for funneling money through Iran. Although Treasury’s announcement, coupled with existing sanctions, has put some pressure on Tehran, much more can be done. Indeed, the White House should take action in its own backyard.
In February, the Obama administration embarked on a real estate project that directly impacts Iran’s interests in the United States. The State Department began refurbishing Iran’s Washington embassy on Massachusetts Avenue, 31 years after the last Iranian diplomat set foot in it. While the government has thus far respected and protected Iran’s property rights and permitted Iranian officials an unparalleled level of freedom, Washington should now seize outright all Iranian assets in the United States and bar as many Iranian officials as possible from our soil.… Seguir leyendo »
La estancia de Mahmud Ahmadineyad en Nueva York en septiembre pasado, con motivo de la Asamblea General de Naciones Unidas, no pasó inadvertida para nadie, al igual que sus anteriores visitas. Pero más allá de sus polémicas declaraciones sobre los atentados del 11-S, cabe remarcar aquí el mensaje que pretendió dar a la comunidad internacional sobre el papel que Irán pretende y puede ejercer en Oriente Próximo, ante la próxima partida de las tropas estadounidenses de Irak.
Al proponer la realización de una conferencia internacional sobre terrorismo en Teherán y declarar 2011 el año del desarme nuclear, Ahmadineyad pretendía dejar en claro que su intención es la de participar activamente en el rediseño y estabilización de Oriente Próximo, remarcando el protagonismo estratégico y político que Irán ostenta en el contexto regional.… Seguir leyendo »
The sanctions adopted by the European Union and most developed countries may yet induce Iran to sincerely enter into negotiations on how to keep its nuclear programme from being used for weapons purposes. But whether or not such talks ensue and are productive, the strict implementation of sanctions can accomplish something else very important: limiting Iran's nuclear weapons potential by denying it the means to expand fissile material production.
That's because, despite Tehran's braggadocio, its nuclear activities are not self-sufficient. Its gas-centrifuge-based programme for uranium enrichment relies on the foreign supply of key raw materials, such as maraging steel and carbon fibre, and of critical components, including vacuum pumps, electrical subcomponents and certain kinds of measuring equipment.… Seguir leyendo »
When President Obama signed into law tough, new legislative sanctions against Iran last week, he capped a month of new measures against that country's nuclear program. Earlier in June, the Obama administration achieved a new round of U.N. Security Council sanctions, and the European Union declared plans to adopt additional sanctions in July. This activity, the culmination of months of political and diplomatic negotiations, is welcome. Absent a broader and more robust strategy, however, sanctions alone will prove inadequate to halt Iran's pursuit of nuclear weapons.
Congress's Comprehensive Iran Sanctions, Accountability, and Divestment Act targets companies that sell, transport and insure gasoline to Iran, as well as financial institutions with ties to Iran's nuclear program.… Seguir leyendo »
Yesterday, European Union leaders gathered in Brussels and approved a new round of sanctions targeting Iran's financial and energy sectors, with a special focus on the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, the paramilitary organisation that dominates most of Iran's business and brutally suppresses the country's democratic opposition. The IRGC is said by experts to control as much as 80% of foreign trade.
While the new sanctions build on last week's UN resolution compelling Iran to pull the plug on its illicit nuclear programme, they also give cause for hope that the EU will no longer subjugate human rights to commercial interests.
The EU now has a month to hammer out the details of its leaders' decision.… Seguir leyendo »
La semana pasada el Consejo de Seguridad de la ONU envió una clara señal a Irán de que el mundo no pasaría por alto su negativa de negociar su programa nuclear. La última Resolución manifiesta una decisión y determinación muy valorada por el nuevo Gobierno británico, que desempeñó un papel protagonista en su elaboración. El pasado sábado fue el aniversario de las elecciones presidenciales iraníes de 2009 y de las dramáticas escenas que sucedieron después. Los dos acontecimientos son distintos, pero representan a un Irán que está aislado y en desacuerdo con la comunidad internacional, y con muchos de sus propios ciudadanos.… Seguir leyendo »
This week the UN Security Council sent a strong signal to Iran that the world will not walk away in the face of its refusal to negotiate over its nuclear programme. The new resolution is a statement of resolve and determination that the new British Government welcomes and played a leading role in bringing about. Tomorrow marks the anniversary of the 2009 Iranian presidential elections and the dramatic scenes that followed. The two events are distinct, but they paint a picture of an Iran that is isolated and at loggerheads with the international community as well as many of its own people.… Seguir leyendo »
Tehran's disclosure that it is building a second uranium enrichment plant near the holy city of Qum has derailed the Obama administration’s already faltering efforts to engage with Iran. The United States will now cling even more tightly to the futile hope that international pressure and domestic instability will induce major changes in Iranian decision-making.
Indeed, the meeting on Thursday in Geneva of the United Nations Security Council’s five permanent members and Germany with Iran (the “five plus one” talks) will not be an occasion for strategic discussion but for delivering an ultimatum: Iran will have to agree to pre-emptive limitations on its nuclear program or face what Secretary of State Hillary Clinton calls “crippling” sanctions.… Seguir leyendo »
Standing with the leaders of France and Great Britain at the G20 meeting in Pittsburgh on Friday, Barack Obama disclosed Iran's construction of yet another secret nuclear structure: a uranium enrichment facility near the holy city of Qom. How much hope should western powers have for the upcoming diplomatic negotiations when the regime in Tehran continues to pursue a secret nuclear programme beyond the reach of international inspectors?
The answer, based on Iran's record of deception, is little to none. Describing the Iranian nuclear programme as "the most urgent proliferation challenge that the world faces today," Gordon Brown noted that Iran has accumulated a record of "serial deception".… Seguir leyendo »
Tehran could soon have humankind's most frightening weapon if substantial diplomatic progress is not made in the coming days.
The United States, along with its partners Russia, China, Britain, France and Germany (known as the "P5 plus one"), will sit down on Thursday with a representative of Iran. From the American perspective, the principal item on the agenda is Iran's illicit nuclear program. Iran's leaders have said they are prepared to talk about virtually anything but that. If diplomacy does not rapidly deliver results, the United States will have to adopt tough measures to stop Iran from obtaining nuclear arms.
For years Iran spurned diplomatic overtures to address the threat posed by its nuclear program.… Seguir leyendo »
Iran has informed the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) – the UN's nuclear watchdog – in a letter that it is building a second uranium enrichment plant.
At the G20 Pittsburgh summit, the US, France and the UK will accuse Tehran of building a secret nuclear weapons capability and threaten further UN sanctions. This will ratchet up tensions and trigger renewed speculation that Israel might launch a pre-emptive strike.
So far, US-led efforts to increase pressure on Iran have failed in large part because of Russia's hostile stance in the UN security council. During Vladimir Putin's presidency (2000-08), Russia repeatedly opposed more punitive measures against Iran.… Seguir leyendo »
My daily commute involves a walk down this city’s most expensive shopping avenue, Fayyazi — past tony boutiques that sell Calvin Klein jeans, Gucci handbags, Dior perfume and Victoria’s Secret lingerie. Over lunch, my Iranian co-workers debate the merits of BlackBerrys versus iPhones, both found in the backrooms of electronics stores here.
As an American living in Iran’s turbulent capital through this historic summer, I was initially struck by how easy it is to find practically anything from back home, despite supposedly stringent Western trade sanctions. (Since President Ronald Reagan imposed export restrictions in 1987, technically only agricultural and medical products and “informational materials” like movies and magazines can be exported to Iran from the United States.)… Seguir leyendo »
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