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Despite Overtures from Rouhani, U.S. Should Pass New Iran Sanctions, Says Think Tank Director
printLawmakers should press ahead with Iran sanctions bills despite pressure to put off new restrictions while American and Iranian officials hold nuclear talks, according to David Ibsen, executive director of United Against Nuclear Iran, a Washington, D.C.-based policy center and longtime sanctions advocate. So far, the U.S. Senate has delayed consideration of a bill passed by the House of Representatives in July that would target Iran's automotive and mining sectors and require countries to reduce oil purchases. A separate bill would curtail Iran's access to foreign currency by closing off U.S. correspondent accounts to banks that process payments for blacklisted...
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U.S. lawmakers may soon have enough support to pass a veto-proof measure that would clear the way for sanctions against foreign banks that deal with blacklisted Iranian entities in foreign currencies.
American elections, EU court decisions and a potential wind-down of negotiations with Iran are complicating efforts by the United States and Europe to maintain uniformity in sanctions enforcement, say analysts.
European companies may be lining up at the gate to do business with Iran in the event of a sanctions rollback but don't expect the continent's banks to go rushing in anytime soon.
For the first time, U.S. officials have blacklisted a foreign financial institution using a July 2012 executive order that prohibits significant transactions with the Central Bank of Iran.
Foreign banks and companies will only reenter the Iranian market upon the finalization of a comprehensive, permanent nuclear agreement with the country, U.S. officials said Tuesday.
Governmental documents published Monday cleared the way for foreign financial institutions to process limited transactions for Iranians but U.S. banks will be unlikely to relax their sanctions policies, according to experts.
A bipartisan bill filed Thursday in the U.S. Senate would impose new trade and banking restrictions on Iran if it fails to meet the terms of last months multinational nuclear agreement.
The chairman of a Senate committee vowed Thursday to block additional sanctions against Iran in an effort to protect last month's multilateral accord to suspend portions of the country's nuclear program.
Western financial institutions won't radically amend their sanctions controls in response to an agreement to limit Iran's nuclear program in exchange for a relaxation of banking restrictions, say former officials.
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The U.S. House of Representatives Wednesday approved legislation that would limit White House-granted waivers to nations that purchase oil from Iran under a 2011 sanctions law.
Growing economic and political ties between Argentina and Iran are prompting some bank compliance officers to look more closely at their clients in the South American nation, say industry professionals.
U.K. Supreme Court Ruling for Bank Mellat Will Not Weaken Iran Sanctions, Say Legal, Banking Sources
The United Kingdom's Supreme Court decision in favor of Bank Mellat, Iran's largest private bank, will not weaken overall sanctions on Iran, U.K. legal and banking sources said.
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The United States should more frequently blacklist foreign financial institutions that flout American sanctions barring Iranian oil sales, a lawmaker said Tuesday.
The White House Monday approved new powers to stifle the use of Iran's currency, impose financial restrictions on the country's automotive sector and blacklist those who support U.S. sanctions designees.
The U.S. House Committee on Foreign Affairs approved legislation that would restrict Iran's access to its overseas assets and expand measures targeting profits derived from the country's commercial trade.
U.S. lawmakers will seek to advance a bill next week that would impose sanctions against companies that trade with Iran unless they agree to reduce their ties to the country within 180 days.
A bipartisan group of senators introduced legislation Wednesday that would bar foreign financial institutions that help Iran's central bank circumvent currency restrictions from holding correspondent accounts in the United States.