NJDC Hails Latest Iran Sanctions Issued by President Obama

NJDC — July 31, 2012 – 3:22 pm | Barack Obama | Iran Comments (1) Add a comment

The National Jewish Democratic Council (NJDC) today hailed the new sanctions issued by President Barack Obama against Iran because of its pursuit of nuclear weapons. NJDC Chair Marc R. Stanley said:

Today’s announcement by President Obama of new sanctions targeting Iran’s banking, energy, and petrochemical industries is yet another step in the right direction toward stopping Iran’s nuclear weapons program. Since taking office, this President has been the leader of the international effort to sanction Iran and he deserves tremendous credit for today’s Executive Order.

According to CNN:

President Barack Obama announced new U.S. sanctions targeting Iran’s oil Tuesday, warning Tehran that it faces ‘growing consequences’ for refusing to answer international questions about its nuclear program.

The first set of sanctions announced will target the Islamic republic’s energy and petrochemical industries, a move designed to ‘deter Iran from establishing payment mechanisms for the purchase of Iranian oil to circumvent existing sanctions,’ a White House statement explains.

The statement continues, ‘Sanctions are also authorized for those who may seek to avoid the impact of these sanctions, including against individuals and entities that provide material support to the National Iranian Oil Company, Naftiran Intertrade Company, or the Central Bank of Iran, or for the purchase or acquisition of U.S. bank notes or precious metals by the government of Iran.’

The second set of sanctions will target banks, ‘a significant step to hold responsible institutions that knowingly enable financial transactions for designated Iranian banks,’ the statement said.

President Obama said in a statement posted by USA Today:

First, I have approved a new Executive Order that imposes new sanctions against the Iranian energy and petrochemical sectors. This action is designed to deter Iran from establishing payment mechanisms for the purchase of Iranian oil to circumvent existing sanctions, and utilizes the existing structure of our sanctions law, including exceptions for significant reductions in the purchase of Iranian oil. Additionally, existing sanctions on Iran’s petrochemical industry are expanded by making sanctionable the purchase or acquisition of Iranian petrochemical products. Sanctions are also authorized for those who may seek to avoid the impact of these sanctions, including against individuals and entities that provide material support to the National Iranian Oil Company, Naftiran Intertrade Company, or the Central Bank of Iran, or for the purchase or acquisition of U.S. bank notes or precious metals by the Government of Iran.

Second, we have also taken a significant step to hold responsible institutions that knowingly enable financial transactions for designated Iranian banks. The Department of the Treasury today imposed sanctions on Bank of Kunlun in China and Elaf Islamic Bank in Iraq under the Comprehensive Iran Sanctions, Accountability, and Divestment Act of 2010 (CISADA). Bank of Kunlun and Elaf Islamic Bank have facilitated transactions worth millions of dollars on behalf of Iranian banks that are subject to sanctions for their links to Iran’s illicit proliferation activities. By cutting off these financial institutions from the United States, today’s action makes it clear that we will expose any financial institution, no matter where they are located, that allows the increasingly desperate Iranian regime to retain access to the international financial system.

According to the White House:

* The Executive Order signed on July 30, 2012 by President Obama expands upon sanctions in section 1245 of the FY 2012 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) to make sanctionable knowingly conducting or facilitating significant transactions with a private or public foreign financial institution or other entity for the purchase or acquisition of Iranian oil.

* This sanction is designed to deter Iran or any other country from establishing payment mechanisms for the purchase of Iranian oil to circumvent the NDAA sanctions. 

* The existing exception rules under the NDAA apply to this new sanction.  Thus, countries that are determined to have significantly reduced their volume of purchases of Iranian crude oil will receive an exception from this new measure as well.  To date, all major purchasers of Iranian crude have significantly reduced their purchases and received exceptions, demonstrating the success of U.S. sanctions policy in reducing Iranian oil sales and revenues.

* Additionally, existing sanctions on Iran’s petrochemical industry are expanded by making sanctionable significant transactions for the purchase or acquisition of Iranian petrochemical products.

* Sanctions are also authorized for individuals and entities that provide material support to the National Iranian Oil Company, Naftiran Intertrade Company, or the Central Bank of Iran, or for the purchase or acquisition of U.S. bank notes or precious metals by the Government of Iran.

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