Saturday, November 23

Tag: iran sanctions

Time Is Running Thin On Iran Deal, Negotiators Say
23Dec By Ramsha ZubairiNo Comments
Diplomacy, Middle East, Sanctions, Types of News: Analysis

Time Is Running Thin On Iran Deal, Negotiators Say

Nuclear Inspectors Are To Partially Resume Monitoring Of Sites Editor's Note: Diplomats representing Germany and the five permanent members of the UN Security Council are working with Iranian representatives to restore the Iranian nuclear deal (JCPOA). The talks first started in 2019. They continued this year. Now diplomats involved say the next few weeks are critical make-it-or-break-it time. Iran is getting closer to building a nuclear weapon. Iran, meanwhile, is asking the United States to waive nuclear-related sanctions and add oil to the list of products that the country can trade. Journalist Ramsha Zubairi reports on recent developments. December 23, 2021--Talks to restore Iran’s 2015 nuclear deal with world powers in Vienna came to a halt on Friday. Today, they are officia...
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27Feb By Patti MohrNo Comments
Diplomacy, Sanctions

U.S. Provides Sanctions Waiver for Humanitarian Aid to Iran

Feb. 27, 2020--The U.S. Treasury Department published a license granting exceptions to its sanctions regime against Iran for shippers of humanitarian supplies, such as food, medicine and medical equipment. The Swiss government launched the new payment channel late last month as a pilot program in cooperation with the U.S. government. Today's action provides the legal framework for that channel Medical shortages started in Iran after the United States pulled out of the nuclear deal and started new sanctions against Iran. Although the sanctions had exempted medical supplies, trade was disrupted due to concern by traders about getting caught up in the sanctions. According to AFP News Agency, "This in turn has worsened the acute shortage of medicines and led to skyrocketing prices, agai...
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Iran Reacts with Defiance to New U.S. Deterrence Strategy
17Jan By Patti MohrNo Comments
Middle East, Sanctions, Types of News: Analysis

Iran Reacts with Defiance to New U.S. Deterrence Strategy

Jan. 17, 2020-Immediate tensions between the United States and Iran subsided since the two country's attacks and counter-attacks in Iraq earlier this month. While war between the two countries appears less imminent, the path forward points to either inevitable conflict or backdoor diplomacy. Today, Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei conducted a rare Friday speech in which he condemned the United States and defended his country's missile attacks against U.S. military bases in Iraq. The strikes inadvertently downed a Ukrainian passenger plane. The United States, meanwhile, intensified its sanctions against Iran, adding Iranian military and political officials and companies trading in Iran's metals industry to its already-large list of sanctioned individuals and entities. ...
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Global Exchange Bars Iranian Banks in Wake of U.S. Sanctions
13Nov By Patti MohrNo Comments
Global Trade, Sanctions, Types of News: Brief

Global Exchange Bars Iranian Banks in Wake of U.S. Sanctions

Nov. 13, 2018--U.S. sanctions against Iran are beginning to hit the banking sector, making international exchange difficult for Iran and its trading partners. Over the weekend, a global messaging system needed for international trade cut Iranian banks off from its exchange. Without access, Iranian traders cannot conduct business abroad using with bank-to-bank money transfers. As the ban takes effect, international transactions with Iranian banks and traders may come to a halt. Furthermore, the impact on banking transactions brings diplomatic rifts between the United States and the European Union to the surface. SWIFT's Hard Hit The Brussels-based SWIFT system started disconnecting some Iranian banks from its network over the weekend. A SWIFT statement reported by Reuters called the...
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New U.S. Sanctions Against Iran Go Into Effect
5Nov By Patti MohrNo Comments
Energy Policy, Oil & Gas, Global Trade, Sanctions, Types of News: Brief

New U.S. Sanctions Against Iran Go Into Effect

Nov. 5, 2018--Six months after pulling out of the six-party nuclear deal, the United States has launched new sanctions against Iran, impacting its banks, shipping industry, businesses and individuals. The sanctions block assets and transactions on over 900 targets, many of them newly named. "They'll be the toughest sanctions ever placed against the Islamic Republic of Iran," U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on Sunday in an interview with CBS News. The sanctions mean that companies doing business with both the U.S. and Iranian firms will have to make a choice: Pick a side. You cannot do business with both countries. According to Pompeo, some business leaders quit conducting business in Iran based on the U.S. decision to withdraw from the six-party nuclear deal. "European co...
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U.S. Targets Chinese, Malaysian Firms in New Sanctions
13Jan By Patti MohrNo Comments
Sanctions, Types of News: Brief

U.S. Targets Chinese, Malaysian Firms in New Sanctions

In its latest round of sanctions against Iran, the U.S. Treasury Department targeted two firms based in Shanghai, China and Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Both firms are accused of trading in export-sensitive goods and concealing that the buyers were Iranian firms barred under previous sanctions. And both firms risk having their any U.S.-based assets frozen and losing business ties with banks and companies under U.S. jurisdiction. Middle Men One of the firms is a large manufacturing and global trader with a business office in Shanghai, China. Bochuang Ceramic, Inc., makes and sells a specialized chemical that can be used in military weapons, such as torpedoes, mines, aircraft and surveillance. According to Treasury, Bochuang Ceramic sold hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of sensitive...
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U.S. Rebuffed at UN Security Council Meeting on Iran
9Jan By Patti MohrNo Comments
Diplomacy, Middle East, Sanctions, Types of News: Brief, UN Security Council

U.S. Rebuffed at UN Security Council Meeting on Iran

At its first formal meeting of the year, the UN Security Council met at the request of the United States to assess the situation in Iran after a near week-long protests in 80 cities. The meeting itself drew criticism from many members who accused the United States of using human rights as an excuse to meddle in Iran's internal affairs. The meeting also comes at a crucial time when leaders are trying to reach a political settlement to end the Syrian civil war. It also comes ahead of a Jan. 13 deadline for the U.S. President Donald Trump to decide whether or not to remove nuclear-related sanctions against Iran based on a 2015 international agreement. Under U.S. law, he must decide every 90 days whether or not to certify the deal, and therefore ease up on nuclear-related sanctions. Trum...
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Iran Protests Spark Bigger Diplomatic Conflicts
4Jan By Patti MohrNo Comments
Geopolitics, Middle East, Sanctions, Types of News: Analysis

Iran Protests Spark Bigger Diplomatic Conflicts

January 4, 2018 - In the aftermath of the multinational fight against ISIS-Daesh forces who had held large parts of Iraq and Syria, geopolitical divides are emerging as regional powers turn their focus to economic issues, sanctions and security alliances. One sign of the shift is the near week-long demonstrations in Iran, which started Dec. 28 near Iran's border with Afghanistan and Turkmenistan. The protests started in Mashhad, Iran's second most populous city, and quickly spread to other parts of the country. They are the largest mass demonstrations the country has seen since 2009 when protesters in Tehran disputed the presidential election. Most media outlets reporting on the recent unrest say the government has not used violence to tamp down on the protests as it did in 2009. The gove...
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Foreign Policy: Disagreements on Dealing with Iran
6Mar By Patti MohrNo Comments
Energy Policy, Oil & Gas, Global Trade, Sanctions, Types of News: Analysis

Foreign Policy: Disagreements on Dealing with Iran

In a bold and unprecedented act, the Republican-led Congress hosted an address by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in which he urged Washington to back away from talks with Iran on nuclear proliferation and keep sanctions in place. The speech by the Israeli Prime Minister was unprecedented because it used the institution of the U.S. Congress to undermine diplomatic negotiations of the White House. The United States is one of six countries—the other five countries are China, France, Germany, Russia, and the United Kingdom—negotiating with Iran to freeze its nuclear program in exchange for relief from sanctions. The talks face a checkpoint deadline at the end of this month. Although some diplomats have expressed progress in the effort to halt Iran's nuclear weapons program, Netany...
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