Eye on Iran: U.S. Moves to Give Iran Limited Access to Dollars

Join UANI               Top Stories WSJ: "The Obama administration is preparing to give Iran limited access to U.S. dollars as part of looser sanctions on Tehran, according to congressional staff members and a former American official briefed on the plans. The proposed move comes amid rising Iranian criticism that the landmark nuclear agreement reached last year between global powers and Tehran hasn't provided the country with sufficient economic benefits. Executives at European and Asian banks have said in recent interviews that they remain reluctant to conduct any financial transactions with Iran due to fears they might run afoul of the U.S. Treasury and its regulations that ban dollar dealings with Iranian firms. Most major international trade, particularly in oil and gas, is conducted in U.S. dollars. The Treasury is considering how to issue licenses to offshore dollar clearing houses for specific Iranian financial institutions, an approach that wouldn't require the involvement of American banks, according to the congressional officials. The clearing houses, likely involving select foreign banks, would conduct the dollar transactions instead, shielding the U.S. financial system from any direct contact with Iran, these officials said. 'They are looking at a couple mechanisms to allow for this dollar trade, stopping short of normalizing banking transactions,' said a congressional banking official briefed by the administration on its plans, which haven't been finalized. Treasury action on Iran's access to the dollar wouldn't require congressional approval... Members of Congress from both parties have rapped reports that the White House is preparing to provide Iran with access to the U.S. dollar... Republican Sens. Marco Rubio of Florida and Mark Kirk of Illinois wrote Mr. Lew on Wednesday seeking assurances that Iran wouldn't be granted dollar access. Their offices said they haven't received responses. In a letter to President Barack Obama on Thursday, Rep. Brad Sherman (D., Calif.), said, 'I believe this will set bad precedent, and it will not be the last time the Iranians and/or their business partners receive additional relief not contemplated' under the nuclear deal. Senior members of Congress on Thursday also released statements voicing concern about the proposed arrangement. House Speaker Paul Ryan said that the administration should abandon the dollar-access idea. And House Democratic Whip Steny Hoyer, who gave qualified support to ending the sanctions regime during congressional debates, said he was opposed to granting Tehran any new relief 'without a corresponding concession. We lose leverage otherwise, and Iran receives something for free.'" http://t.uani.com/1UHIkaT Daily Star (Lebanon): "Former Prime Minister Saad Hariri Thursday urged Iran to turn its interference in Arab countries into a constructive involvement, calling on the Islamic Republic to support all of Lebanon and not just a specific faction. In a wide-ranging interview with Russia Today's Worlds Apart, Hariri also discussed the war in Syria, saying that Russian involvement aimed at protecting the Syrian state. 'Iran's involvement in the region has to be a constructive involvement. ... The involvement of Iran should be [to] the benefit of the whole of Lebanon, not for a faction of Lebanese who are only Shiite,' Hariri said, in English, in reference to Hezbollah, who is backed by Iran. 'If you want to help Lebanon, you have to help the whole Lebanese government. You don't help a faction in the Lebanese government.' The Future Movement leader arrived in Moscow Tuesday on a visit during which he met with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov. Hariri and Saudi Arabia accuse Iran of meddling in the affairs of Arab countries. 'I don't think Saudi Arabia wants bad relationships with Iran, but Iran's involvement in countries like Yemen, Bahrain, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Iraq and Syria are not involvements that build trust between the two countries,' he said. 'The issue of Iranian influence isn't a Saudi issue, it's an Arab issue.'" http://t.uani.com/236hr1t The Local (Austria): "The Austrian President had said that Iran had cancelled the trip planned for March 30th and 31st due to security concerns, although the Interior Ministry has since said there were 'no signs of a threat'.  Reports in Iranian media suggested that President Hassan Rouhani's trip had been postponed until better conditions could be created. It has since emerged that Iran had tried to insist Austria ban an anti-Iranian regime demonstration that had been due to take place on Wednesday, according to Austria's Die Presse newspaper, citing diplomatic sources. The protest had been organised by the Human Rights Centre for Victims of Fundamentalism, in support of several Iran opposition groups. Speaking to The Local, Shahin Gobadi from the Foreign Affairs Committee of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) said the planned protest could be one of several reasons for the cancellation. 'It could be the result of the concern that the trip heightened the international contempt of the regime's conduct,' he said. 'Our planned demonstration could have had that effect. Another reason could be factional infighting in Iran. There was also the fact that Austria's President had said in an interview before the trip that Tehran cannot expect sanctions to be lifted straight away.'" http://t.uani.com/1oq7YT7 Nuclear & Ballistic Missile Program Free Beacon: "President Barack Obama's deputy national security adviser for strategic communications reiterated the administration's position Thursday that the Iran nuclear deal is only intended to curb the country's nuclear program, while the country's development of ballistic missiles is an entirely separate issue, along with the Islamic Republic's sponsorship of terrorism and aggression in the Middle East. Iran has met its major obligations under the nuclear accord despite its continued work on ballistic missiles in violation of United Nations Security Council resolutions, according to Ben Rhodes. Rhodes commented on the status of the Iran deal at a special press briefing during the president's final Nuclear Security Summit in Washington, D.C. Rhodes said in the briefing that Iran has met its 'major commitments' under the JCPOA, the formal name for the nuclear agreement, prompting a reporter to ask if that phrasing was intentionally used to leave 'wiggle room' on the matter due to Iran's ballistic missile tests. 'No, Iran has complied with the JCPOA,' Rhodes said... Rhodes argued that the JCPOA is only a nuclear deal that was never supposed to include anything on ballistic missile launches and development. 'This is a nuclear deal, and we've always been very clear that the JCPOA is about rolling back and constraining Iran's nuclear program,' Rhodes said. 'We were also clear that they were going to continue to be engaged in behavior that we found counterproductive - ballistic missiles, support for terrorism, destabilizing activities in the region. That's not the nuclear deal. It's a separate set of issues on which we have the ability to respond.'" http://t.uani.com/1X2Rjki Sanctions Relief Reuters: "Iranian company Sanergy is to build a gas distribution network in two Armenian towns in a project financed by the Iranian government, Armenia's energy minister said on Thursday. Levon Iolyan told a government meeting that Iran would resume financing for the project, which was suspended in 2013, and would disburse a $2 million grant. The project envisages construction of a gas distribution network in the towns of Megri and Agarak, not far from the border with Iran. Iolyan said construction work, which is expected to start soon and to be completed within 6-7 months, would be monitored by Gazprom Armenia, an Armenian subsidiary of Russia's gas monopoly Gazprom." http://t.uani.com/1MZNruR Reuters: "Iran said it has increased shipments to top iron ore consumer China... in Iran, vessels loaded with iron ore bound for China have increased 'remarkably', Keyvan Jafari Tehrani, head of international affairs at the Iron Ore Producers and Exporters Association of Iran, told Reuters. 'When the price of iron ore rose above $50 a tonne, the number of shipments to China increased and if it stays above $55, more mines will resume production,' said Tehrani. Iran is the sixth-biggest iron ore exporter to China, but shipments fell 40 percent last year to 13.2 mln tonnes as prices tumbled. Around 70 percent of private iron ore mines in Iran shut in the past two years due to the market rout, Tehrani said." http://t.uani.com/1VY4AMV Opinion & Analysis Rep. Peter J. Roskam (R-IL) in WSJ: "It's a good time to be a repressive Iranian theocrat. Relieved of most sanctions by President Obama's nuclear deal, the mullahs have been flexing their muscles lately by firing ballistic missiles in violation of United Nations Security Council resolutions, capturing and humiliating American sailors, and firing rockets near U.S. ships. Meanwhile, Iran's President Hassan Rouhani is currently on an international tour to convey a simple message to the West: The Islamic Republic is open for business. Employees, shareholders and executives at firms considering entering the Iranian market should not be tempted. If you wouldn't do business with Islamic State, you shouldn't do business with the Islamic Republic. Since the implementation of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, Western companies have quietly started to explore business opportunities in a country some view as an emerging market with untapped potential. After years of sanctions and economic stagnation, Iran is welcoming foreign investment with open arms. But Iran isn't simply an emerging market with untapped potential. It's also the world's leading state sponsor of terrorism. It's the supplier and manufacturer of improvised explosive devices deployed to kill and maim thousands of American and coalition troops in Iraq and Afghanistan. It's the patron and partner of Bashar Assad in the slaughter of innocents in Syria, with nearly half a million killed so far. Iran is a dangerous geopolitical foe led by a cult of extremists hell-bent on Western civilization's annihilation. It should not be considered open for business... As chairman of the Ways and Means Oversight Subcommittee, I will do everything in my power to prevent Iran from obtaining additional means, financial or otherwise, to bolster its support for terrorism. Congress won't allow companies to receive foreign tax credits for levies paid to the Islamic Republic. Firms that enable Iranian terror may be hard-pressed to renew contracts with the Defense Department or other government agencies. My colleagues and I will use all the tools at our disposal to name and shame the individuals and businesses that pursue short-term profit at the expense of innocent lives. These companies will need to choose between doing business with the U.S. and doing business with Iran. Much like Islamic State, the Islamic Republic of Iran possesses a theology and eschatology fundamentally incompatible with peace and world order. It is my sincere hope the mullahs will end their support for terrorism and rejoin the community of nations. Until such time, Congress will neither relinquish its historic oversight role with regards to trade policy nor abrogate its responsibility to protect Americans from the threat of Iran's brand of radical Islamic terror." http://t.uani.com/236hIRW           Eye on Iran is a periodic news summary from United Against Nuclear Iran (UANI) a program of the American Coalition Against Nuclear Iran, Inc., a tax-exempt organization under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. Eye on Iran is not intended as a comprehensive media clips summary but rather a selection of media elements with discreet analysis in a PDA friendly format. 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