Obama Administration Preparing Fresh Iran Sanctions Nearly a dozen companies and individuals targeted over ballistic-missile program By Jay Solomon
http://www.wsj.com/articles/obama-administration-preparing-fresh-iran-sanctions-1451507921
The Obama administration is preparing to impose its first financial sanctions on Iran since it forged a landmark nuclear agreement in July, presenting a major test for whether Tehran will stay committed to the deal.
The planned action by the Treasury Department, U.S. officials told The Wall Street Journal, is directed at nearly a dozen companies and individuals in Iran, Hong Kong and the United Arab Emirates for their alleged role in developing Iran’s ballistic-missile program.
Iranian officials have warned the White House in recent months that any such financial penalties would be viewed by Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei as a violation of the nuclear accord.
Senior U.S. officials have said the Treasury retained a right under the agreement to blacklist Iranian entities allegedly involved in missile development, as well as those that support international terrorism and human-rights abuses. Officials view those activities as separate from the nuclear deal.
Critics of the administration said Wednesday that the impending sanctions are paltry compared with the amount of sanctions relief Iran is set to get next year under the nuclear deal.
But they also acknowledged that the measures could feed into Iranian politics and national elections scheduled for late February. Hard-line politicians in Tehran have attacked President Hassan Rouhani and his allies for the terms of the nuclear deal.
The Iranian government on Wednesday didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment on the possible new sanctions, which are expected to be formally announced this week.
Iranian diplomats recently accused the U.S. of violating the nuclear agreement after Congress passed legislation requiring that any foreign national who visits Iran or Syria obtain a visa before entering the U.S., a change made in response to the San Bernardino shootings. Iranian officials called the visa requirement, in effect, a tax or sanction on international businessmen seeking to invest in the Iranian market.
Iran has test-fired two ballistic missiles since the July agreement, one in October and a second in November, according to U.S. officials.
A United Nations panel ruled this month that the October launch violated a U.N. Security Council resolution that bans Iran’s development of ballistic-missile systems. The Obama administration had warned Tehran the U.S. might use unilateral sanctions to retaliate.
“We’ve been looking for some timeat options for additional actions related to Iran’s ballistic missile program based on our continued concerns about its activities, including the October 10th [missile] launch,” a senior U.S. official said late Wednesday. “We are considering various aspects related to additional designations, as well as evolving diplomatic work that is consistent with our national security interests.”
ENLARGE Iran acknowledges its missile program but says it doesn’t violate U.N. law and is strictly for defensive purposes.
Tension between the U.S. and Iran heated up this week after the Pentagon rebuked Tehran for testing “unguided rockets” near an American aircraft carrier and French warships in the Strait of Hormuz in the Persian Gulf.
U.S. officials said naval vessels from Iran’s elite military unit, the Revolutionary Guard Corps, fired rockets just 1,500 yards from where the USS Harry S. Truman, the USS Bulkeley destroyer and the French ships were sailing.
The incident prompted calls from Congress for the U.S. to take action. “The administration continues to turn a blind eye to Iranian saber rattling…for fear Iran will walk away from the nuclear deal,” Sen. John McCain (R., Ariz.), chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, said Wednesday.
The sanctions being prepared by the Treasury Department relate to two Iran-linked networks alleged to be involved in developing the country’s missile program and include sanctions on many of the individuals involved. The sanctions would prohibit U.S. or foreign nationals from conducting business with the blacklisted firms. U.S. banks are also ordered to freeze any assets the companies or individuals hold inside the American financial system.
The pending actions would target U.A.E.-based Mabrooka Trading Co. LLC and its founder, Hossein Pournaghshband, for allegedly aiding Iranian state companies in acquiring carbon fiber for Iran’s missile program, according to a Treasury statement reviewed by the Journal.
Mr. Pournaghshband also used a subsidiary in Hong Kong, Anhui Land Group Co., to acquire materials and financing for a carbon-fiber production line. Carbon fiber is an important input for missile development because of its malleability and ability to endure extreme heat.
An attempt to reach Mr. Pournaghshband and the offices of Mabrooka Trading in Dubai was unsuccessful.
The Treasury is also preparing to sanction five Iranian officials working at the country’s Ministry of Defense for Armed Forces Logistics, or MODAFL, and its subsidiaries for allegedly working on the ballistic-missile program.
Among the reasons for the potential new sanctions are ties the Treasury is alleging between Iran and North Korea on missile development. This includes Iran buying components from Pyongyang’s state-owned Korea Mining Development Trading Corp., which is sanctioned by both the U.S. and the European Union.
The U.S. also alleges that Tehran sent technicians to North Korea over the past two years to jointly work with its defense industries on the development of an 80-ton rocket booster.
Among the five Iranian officials to be sanctioned, according to the Treasury statement, is Sayyed Javad Musavi, commercial director of Shahid Hemmat Industrial Group, which is a subsidiary of MODAFL. Hemmat was previously sanctioned by the Treasury in 2005 for supporting Iran’s missile program.
The Treasury also blacklisted two senior members of MODAFL, Sayyed Medhi Farahi and Seyed Mohammad Hashemi.
Obama administration officials said the U.S. could begin lifting international sanctions on Iran related to its nuclear program by next month. Tehran this week shipped 25,000 pounds of enriched uranium to Russia in a move that significantly diminishes Tehran’s ability to produce nuclear weapons.
Iran denies it seeks nuclear weapons. Many U.S. defense analysts believe the only function for a ballistic missile would be to carry nuclear warheads.
“While the Obama administration has finally done something to push back against illegal Iranian ballistic-missile testing, these latest measures are the bare minimum,” said Mark Dubowitz of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, a Washington think tank critical of the Iran deal.
Sen. Chris Coons (D., Del.), who supported the nuclear agreement, defended the scope of the planned penalties, saying they would demonstrate the U.S.’s willingness to enforce sanctions not related to the nuclear deal. “Strict, aggressive, and consistent enforcement is critical to punishing Iran for its destabilizing behavior and making the nuclear deal work,” he said.
Comments are closed.
