New Iran Sanctions are Effective: Maximum Pressure Policy

[Atusa Qajar]

Trump Maximum Pressure on Iran Campaign Enhanced

New Iran Sanctions are Coming
Iran Pension Funds are Collapsing
Retiring Iranians are Angry of IRI Policies



Pension funds in Iran on brink of collapse amid US ‘maximum pressure’ campaign
FOX special Investigation Report

FOX News
https://www.foxnews.com/

EXCLUSIVE: Crippling sanctions imposed by the United States on Iran since President Trump’s withdrawal from the nuclear deal last year have left pension funds throughout the country on the brink of collapse, according to documents reviewed by National Security Council officials and obtained by Fox News.



U.S. officials are pointing to this as evidence of just how punishing the ongoing “maximum pressure” campaign against Iran has been.

“They have fewer resources. We can see it with the Shia militias in Iraq. They’re scrambling for resources. We think the Iranian government will shrink, that their GDP will shrink by as much as 12 or 14 percent this year,” Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on “Fox News Sunday,” speaking to the economic impact.

“This will reduce their capacity to purchase the things they need, the equipment they need, the materials they need, to inflict terror around the world.”

The impact has been so severe that of the 18 existing retirement funds in Iran, 17 are in the red, according to these documents. That includes the pension funds for all of Iran’s armed forces.

As much as 80 percent of Iran’s retirement funds rely on government subsidies, which the documents refer to as unsustainable for not just pensions but for food products, drugs and fuel.

There are also signs of a growing crisis in Iran’s real estate market. The documents refer to the interconnected challenges as a “house of cards.”

Trump – who campaigned during the 2016 election calling the Obama-era nuclear agreement with Iran “the worst deal ever” – announced plans for the U.S. to withdraw from the deal in 2018.

However, American allies France, Britain and Germany are still in the Iran nuclear deal, trying to salvage it and allow Iran to sell its oil. Iranian officials have met with France and Japan, while China continues buying Iranian oil despite American sanctions.

“I noted the repeated statements by @SecPompeo that Iran must change its policies in order for Iranians to eat is pure #EconomicTerrorism,” Javad Zarif, Iran’s foreign minister, recently tweeted. “Tying bread & medicine to politics is to kill & starve people into submission. Iranians will never capitulate.”

The details from the pressure campaign come amid reports that Trump is now considering throwing support behind a plan crafted by French President Emmanuel Macron that would extend a $15 billion line of credit to the regime in Tehran if leaders agree to come back into compliance with terms of the 2015 nuclear agreement.

Iran has been taking steps away from those terms, most recently announcing it would take new measures to speed up uranium enrichment as part of its nuclear program.

A State Department spokesperson called that announcement “another transparent attempt to generate negotiating leverage and extort the international community,” and added: “We have made clear that the regime’s political and economic isolation will only deepen if it takes further steps that increase concerns about its nuclear program.”

Meanwhile, questions remain over whether Trump could meet with Iranian President Hassan Rouhani on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York later this month.

Trump has expressed a willingness to meet Rouhani, but the Iranian president has ruled it out, saying no meeting can take place until the United States drops sanctions.

Videos

Iran FOX Videos
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/pensio ... e-campaign

FOX News YouTube
https://www.youtube.com/user/FoxNewsChannel

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Iranian Joke of the Century: IRI Parliament Passes Anti-Terrorism Measures!
http://iranpoliticsclub.net/politics/jo ... /index.htm

[Atusa Qajar]

Iran Hits Saudi Oil Facilities

Saudis Back up U.S. Assessment of Iranian Weapons Used in Oil Field Attack



John Hayward
Breitbart News
https://www.breitbart.com/

The military coalition assembled by Saudi Arabia to intervene in Yemen’s civil war said on Monday that the weekend attack on Saudi oil facilities was conducted with Iranian weapons, and those weapons were not launched from Yemen, despite claims to the contrary by the Iran-backed Houthi insurgency.

“The preliminary results show that the weapons are Iranian and we are currently working to determine the location,” Col. Turki al-Malki, a spokesman for the coalition, said at a press conference in Riyadh.

“The terrorist attack did not originate from Yemen as the Houthi militia claimed,” he added, promising to specify where the drones that hit the Saudi oil targets were launched from in a future briefing.

Malki called the attack “cowardly” and said it targeted “the global economy,” not just Saudi Arabia.

The Houthi rebels claimed responsibility for the attack and warned on Monday they will launch more strikes against Saudi Arabia’s oil infrastructure. A Houthi military spokesman warned “companies and foreigners not to be present in the factories that were hit by our strikes because we may target them again at any moment.”

The spokesman claimed Houthi forces can now strike targets anywhere in Saudi Arabia at will and promised the attacks “will expand and be more painful.”

Several Trump administration officials, notably including Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Energy Secretary Rick Perry, have openly accused Iran of launching the attack:

Tehran is behind nearly 100 attacks on Saudi Arabia while Rouhani and Zarif pretend to engage in diplomacy. Amid all the calls for de-escalation, Iran has now launched an unprecedented attack on the world’s energy supply. There is no evidence the attacks came from Yemen.

An unnamed senior U.S. official told ABC News on Monday that Iran perpetrated the attack, using almost a dozen cruise missiles in addition to 20 drones, all launched from its territory. The Houthis have attacked targets in Saudi Arabia before, but never with such range, precision, or force.

“It was Iran. The Houthis are claiming credit for something they did not do,” said ABC’s source.

CNN also quoted an unnamed senior U.S. official on Sunday who said satellite images showed the attack on the Saudi oil fields came from the northwest – the direction of Iran and Iraq, not Yemen. An attack from Yemen passing the targets and then turning to hit them from the northwest was described as unlikely, if not impossible. The official also noted there were signs of damage to 19 different targets but the Houthis claim to have launched only 10 drones.

The New York Times said other administration sources speaking on background Sunday said the attack involved both cruise missiles and drones. “Both, and a lot of them,” one official said.
The officials indicated more U.S. intelligence will be declassified in the coming days to buttress allegations of Iranian responsibility, possibly including forensic analyses of weapons fired at the Saudi facilities that fell short of their targets.

The NYT was able to find a few Iranian military sources who doubted the Houthis could have carried out the attack without Iranian assistance, or took the opportunity to gloat that if the relatively crude Houthi military was capable of such a strike, the U.S. and its allies should fear what Iran could do in the event of a “full-fledged” engagement.

More:

Pompeo accuses Iran of 'unprecedented attack' after drones hit Saudi oil facilities
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/pompeo ... -saudi-oil

[CR]

Making a Deal with Mullahs is Useless
A word with President Trump


Trump, Rouhani, Khamenei, Good Mullah, Bad Mullah, Iran A F Branco Cartoon
IRI plays the same old Good Cop, Bad Cop Theatre!

Friends:

Please review Ahreeman X’s new piece:

*

Trump’s Art of the Deal

President Trump, you are well enlightened about the Iranian, Middle Eastern and global politics but for the sake of dealing with the Deep State, GOP Establishment and Democrats, you need to be PC; therefore, at surface, you say something but in depth, you feel another.

You are very well aware that:

There is no Moderate Mullah
There is no Moderate IRI Official
There is no Moderate IRI Diplomat
There is no Moderate IRI Lobby

Read more:

Making a Deal with Mullahs is Useless
A word with President Trump
http://iranpoliticsclub.net/politics/de ... /index.htm

Iran Politics Index
http://iranpoliticsclub.net/politics/index.htm

Iran Cartoons Index
http://iranpoliticsclub.net/cartoons/index.htm

Founder’s Index
http://iranpoliticsclub.net/founder/index.htm

Regards,

Catayoun Razmjou
IPC Web Mistress
IPC Office
http://iranpoliticsclub.net/


Trump Khamenei Iran Daryl Cagle Cartoon
Trump has Khamenei wrapped in his tie
Trump plays Iran like a fine-tuned flute

[Atusa Qajar]

This is the important point made by Ahreeman to Trump:

Iranian Regime’s Power Structure

President Trump, please note that the president of Iran (Hassan Rouhani) is a powerless, puppet figurehead. In Iran, the president is a figurehead. You have already declared IRGC as a terrorist organization but IRGC runs Iran and they only answer to one person and that is the Supreme Spiritual Leader (Ayatollah Ali Khameneni) who military, executive, legislative and judiciary branches are all under his supervision. Supreme Spiritual Leader is the head of the IRI Regime; therefore, if you need to negotiate with anyone equal to you, then that would be the Supreme Spiritual Leader who has the literacy of a 5th grader but the conning of a predatory fox!

Trump must be clear, whom he must negotiate with, if anyone. Anybody below Khamenei is beneath him. I doubt negotiation with Mullahs would have any meaning.

[Atusa Qajar]

Javad Zarif: US or Saudi Retaliation Will Start an All Out War

Iran Pushes the Envelope One Step Further

IRI Testing the Ground by Threats





Iran warns of ‘all-out war’ if US retaliates in wake of Saudi oil facility bombings

Greg Norman
FOX News
https://www.foxnews.com/

Iran warned Thursday that an "all-out war” could break out if any country attacks it following weekend bombings of Saudi Arabia’s oil facilities that the U.S. believes Tehran orchestrated.

Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif’s stark message to CNN comes a day after U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo tweeted that the “Iranian regime's threatening behavior will not be tolerated."

"I am making a very serious statement that we don't want to engage in a military confrontation," Zarif said in an interview with the channel. "But we won't blink to defend our territory."






Remains of what was described as a misfired Iranian cruise missile used in an attack this weekend that targeted the heart of Saudi Arabia's oil industry, is displayed during a press conference by Saudi military spokesman Col. Turki al-Malki, in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on Wednesday. (AP)

When asked what would be the consequence of a U.S. or Saudi strike, Zarif said: "All-out war."
It would cause "a lot of casualties," he added.

Pompeo, who arrived in the United Arab Emirates on Thursday, said America is always pushing for a peaceful resolution.

America's top diplomat met earlier Thursday with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in Jeddah over Saturday's attack on a crucial oil processing facility and oil field, which halved the kingdom's oil production. Yemen's Iranian-backed Houthi rebels have claimed the attack, but the U.S. alleges Iran carried out the assault.


Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif attends a forum titled "Common Security in the Islamic World" in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, in August. (AP)

"The U.S. stands with #SaudiArabia and supports its right to defend itself," Pompeo tweeted Wednesday.

Pompeo, speaking from Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, on Wednesday, added that even if the "fraudulent claims" of responsibility by the Yemen Houthi rebels were true, "it doesn't change the fingerprints of the [Iran Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei] as having put at risk the global energy supply."

He called it an "act of war."

Pompeo's remarks in Saudi Arabia also came hours after President Trump tweeted that he had ordered Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin to “substantially increase sanctions” on Iran, amid escalating tensions between the two countries.

Trump Twitter:

I have just instructed the Secretary of the Treasury to substantially increase Sanctions on the country of Iran!

Earlier this week, Trump said it was "looking like" Iran was responsible for the bombing but did not publicly accuse Tehran of the attack.

“Well, it’s looking that way,” the president told reporters at the White House on Monday when asked if Iran was responsible. “We’ll let you know definitively.” He added: “That’s being checked out right now.”




A satellite image from Planet Labs Inc. shows thick black smoke rising from Saudi Aramco's Abqaiq oil processing facility in Buqyaq, Saudi Arabia, following this past weekend's attack. (AP/Planet Labs Inc)

At a press conference Wednesday, the Saudis displayed broken and burned drones and pieces of a cruise missile that military spokesman Col. Turki Al-Malki identified as Iranian weapons collected after the attack. He also played surveillance video that he said showed a drone coming in from the north. Yemen is to the south of Saudi Arabia.

Eighteen drones and seven cruise missiles were launched in the assault, Al-Malki said, with three missiles failing to make their targets. He said the cruise missiles had a range of 435 miles, meaning they could not have been fired from inside Yemen. That opinion was shared by weapons experts who spoke to The Associated Press.

"This is the kind of weapon the Iranian regime and the Iranian IRGC are using against the civilian object and facilities infrastructure," Al-Malki said, referring to Iran's Revolutionary Guards.

He added: "This attack did not originate from Yemen, despite Iran's best effort to make it appear so."

Videos

Zarif Interview with CNN
https://youtu.be/BuTktR8KQwI

FOX Video
https://www.foxnews.com/world/iran-all- ... l-bombings

FOX News YouTube
https://www.youtube.com/user/FoxNewsChannel

[Atusa Qajar]

Iran is the Top International State Sponsor of Terrorism
New US States Department Report










General Qassem Soleimani, the leader of Iran's Quds Force, in 2017


IRGC Qods Force Special Forces


Iran Special Forces

Iran Remains Worst State Sponsor of Terror and Works with Al Qaeda

Benjamin Weinthal
Jerusalem Post
https://www.jpost.com/

The report said that “Tehran continued to allow an al-Qaeda facilitation network to operate in Iran, which sends fighters and money to conflict zones in Afghanistan and Syria."

he US State Department’s new report on terrorism lists the Islamic Republic of Iran as the top international state-sponsor of terrorism and cites Tehran’s work with facilitating the activities of Sunni terrorist organization al-Qaeda.


Structure of Iran-Hezbollah axis to manufacture precision weapons in Lebanon. (photo credit: IDF)

“Iran remains the world’s worst state sponsor of terrorism,” noted the document titled, “Country Reports on Terrorism 2018” that was released on Friday. “The regime has spent nearly one billion dollars per year to support terrorist groups that serve as its proxies and expand its malign influence across the globe. Tehran has funded international terrorist groups such as Hezbollah, Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad. It also has engaged in its own terrorist plotting around the world, particularly in Europe.”

The report said that “Tehran continued to allow an AQ [al-Qaeda] facilitation network to operate in Iran, which sends fighters and money to conflict zones in Afghanistan and Syria, and it has extended sanctuary to AQ members residing in the country.”

“At the same time, the United States and its partners continued to pursue al-Qa’ida (AQ) globally, and the United States applied maximum pressure on Iran-backed terrorism, significantly expanding sanctions on Iranian state actors and proxies and building stronger international political will to counter those threats,” the State Department said.

Germany and the EU have refused to designate Hezbollah’s entire organization a terrorist group. According to German intelligence reports reviewed by The Jerusalem Post, 1,050 Hezbollah members and supporters operate in Germany. The Hezbollah operatives raise funds for Hezbollah in Lebanon, recruit new members and spread antisemitic and jihadi ideologies in Europe. The Netherlands, Canada, the US, Israel, Britain and the Arab League proscribed Hezbollah’s entire entity a terrorist organization.

“Hezbollah remained Iran’s most powerful terrorist partner and the most capable terrorist organization in Lebanon, controlling areas across the country,” wrote the State Department’s counterterrorism experts. “Iran’s annual financial backing to Hezbollah – an estimated US $700 million per year – accounts for the overwhelming majority of the group’s annual budget. Hezbollah’s presence in Lebanon and Syria continued to pose a threat to Israel.”

The State Department said that “in January, German authorities investigated 10 suspected Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Quds Force [IRGC] operatives. In the summer, authorities in Belgium, France and Germany thwarted an Iranian plot to bomb a political rally near Paris, France. In October, an Iranian operative was arrested for planning an assassination in Denmark, and in December, Albania expelled two Iranian officials for plotting terrorist attacks.”

The report said that “Iran uses its Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps-Quds Force (IRGC-QF) to advance its interests abroad, provide cover for intelligence operations, and create instability in the Middle East. Iran has acknowledged the involvement of the IRGC-QF in the conflicts in Iraq and Syria. Through the IRGC-QF, Iran supports several US-designated terrorist groups, providing funding, training, weapons and equipment. Among the groups receiving support from Iran are Hezbollah, Hamas, Palestinian Islamic Jihad, Kata’ib Hezbollah in Iraq, and al-Ashtar Brigades in Bahrain. Iran has also provided weapons and support to Shia militant groups in Iraq and to the Houthis in Yemen.”


IRGC Qods Force Special Units


Iran Special Forces

[CR]

Trump Iran Sanctions Wiped Out Obama’s Nuke Deal Dollars!

Obama granted IRI $ 150 Billion
Trump Sanctioned IRI $ 200 Billion
Deficit of $ 50 Billion for IRI

Obama Made Mullahs and Islam Great Again!
Trump Made America and Democracy Great Again!

Obama – IRI Relations in Cartoons


Adventures of the Two Muslim Brothers: Hassan and Hussein!
From Imam Hassan and Imam Hussein the Great Shiite Saints,
To Modern Imam Hassan Rouhani and Imam Hussein Obama!
Adventures of Hassan Rouhani and Hussein Obama!


Democrats Arm Mullah’s Missile Iran Cartoon
Hussein Obama and Democrats Empowered Khamenei, Mullahs and IRI
Obama Made Iranian Mullahs Great Again!

Trump – IRI Relations in Cartoons


Trump Khamenei Iran Daryl Cagle Cartoon
Trump has Khamenei wrapped in his tie
Trump plays Iran like a fine-tuned flute


Trump dusting the Persian Carpet Daryl Cagle Cartoon
Trump Nowruz Persian New Year Cleaning! Look what came out of the Persian Carpet? Rouhani with Nukes! After 4 decades, it was time to clean the Persian Carpet!

*

Article

Iran: Trump’s $200 bn Sanctions Have Wiped Out Obama’s $150 bn Nuclear Deal

Joel B. Pollak
Breitbart News
https://www.breitbart.com/

The sanctions imposed by President Donald Trump on Iran have more than erased the benefits given by President Barack Obama under the nuclear deal, according to numbers presented by Iranian President Hassan Rouhani.

Under the Iran deal, Iran gained renewed access to up to $150 billion in assets that had been previously frozen. The Obama administration also infamously gave Iran nearly $2 billion in cash for the release of American prisoners who were effectively hostages. The money is believed to have been used, in part, to fund Iranian terror operations.

Rouhani, quoted by Bloomberg News, said Tuesday that U.S. sanctions have cost the country some $200 billion:

Renewed U.S. sanctions have cost Iran $200 billion in foreign-exchange income and investment, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said Tuesday.

Sanctions have deprived the Islamic Republic of $100 billion in oil revenue in the last two years and an equal amount in foreign investment credit, Rouhani said in a televised speech, according to his official website.

The sanctions have punished Iran for its role in developing weapons of mass destruction; for its sponsorship of terror groups in the region and worldwide; and for its repressive human rights abuses against its own citizens.

Last April, the State Department said “maximum pressure means maximum pressure. We are fulfilling our promise to get Iran’s oil exports to zero and deny the regime the revenue it needs to fund terrorism and violent wars abroad.”

The Iranian regime continues to crack down violently on protests, cutting off cell phone service to parts of the country last week to prevent demonstrators from coordinating and publicizing the crackdown.

[CR]

Iran Sanction Wavers End: Maximum Pressure Enforced
In 60 Days Full Sanctions on Everything for Iran
Obama Wavers for Iran Ends

Heavy Sanctions in Full Effect are Coming for IRI & Mullahs
Only Medicine for Iranian People is Exempted
Everything Else is Sanctioned









Pompeo Announces End of Obama-Era Iran Sanctions Waivers

Breitbart News
https://www.breitbart.com/

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Wednesday announced he is “ending the sanctions waiver for JCPOA-related projects in Iran, effective in 60 days.” JCPOA stands for Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, the formal name of the nuclear deal struck by former President Barack Obama.

President Donald Trump announced U.S. withdrawal from the agreement in May 2018, fulfilling one of his 2016 campaign promises.

“This was a horrible one-sided deal that should never, ever have been made. It didn’t bring calm, it didn’t bring peace, and it never will,” he said when announcing his final decision to withdraw.

Pompeo also cited Iranian misbehavior when declaring the end of the last sanctions waivers on Wednesday.

“The Iranian regime has continued its nuclear brinkmanship by expanding proliferation sensitive activities. These escalatory actions are unacceptable and I cannot justify renewing the waiver for these JCPOA-related activities as a result,” Pompeo said.

“The regime’s nuclear extortion will lead to increased pressure on Iran and further isolate the regime from the international community,” he cautioned. “Moreover, Iran’s nuclear personnel need to make a choice – work for Iranian proliferation organizations and risk being sanctioned or put their skills to work for the Iranian people in pursuits outside of the proliferation realm.”

Pompeo further announced additional sanctions designations against two Iranians, Majid Agha’i and Amjad Sazgar, for engaging in activities that contributed to “the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction.” He described their positions within the Iranian regime and their offenses:

Sazgar is the Managing Director of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran entity responsible for the industrial-scale production of uranium enrichment gas centrifuge machines. In 2019, Sazgar managed and supervised the installation of centrifuges at Iran’s Fordow Fuel Enrichment plant. Through these activities, Sazgar has contributed to Iran’s continued provocative and destabilizing expansion of its nuclear capabilities. Agha’i has also been centrally involved in Iran’s uranium enrichment centrifuge operations, and is a manager in the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran subsidiary responsible for research and development of advanced centrifuges.

Pompeo referenced Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s most recent outburst of belligerent anti-Semitic and eliminationist rhetoric to stress that Iran’s evil regime cannot be allowed to have weapons of mass destruction.

“A regime that just days ago invoked ‘The Final Solution’ and which regularly threatens to wipe Israel off the map must never obtain a nuclear weapon,” he said. “The United States welcomes the international community’s widespread condemnation of the regime’s recent anti-Semitic statements. The regime’s vile rhetoric only strengthens the international community’s resolve to counter its threats.”

At a State Department press briefing on Wednesday, Special Representative for Iran Brian Hook said the terminated waivers included “the Arak reactor conversion, the provision of enriched uranium for the Tehran research reactor, and the export of Iran-spent and scrap research reactor fuel.”

Hook added that Pompeo extended the waiver for the Bushehr nuclear power plant for 90 days since international assistance for that project predated the JCPOA.

“The Secretary retains the right to revoke or modify this waiver at any time,” he noted.

Hook said the termination of these waivers was an appropriate response to Iran’s belligerent rhetoric and behavior and were part of President Trump’s campaign of “maximum pressure” against the regime in Tehran:

We are taking these actions now because the regime continues to use its nuclear program to extort the international community. The Iranian regime’s threats are designed to intimidate nations into accepting Iran’s usual violent behavior for fear of something worse. We refuse to play by Iran’s rules.

President Trump’s maximum pressure campaign has constrained and countered Iran in unprecedented ways. We have deprived the clerical rulers of vast amounts of revenue. We have disrupted their financial networks and their sectarian networks. Because of our pressure, Iran’s leaders are facing a decision: either negotiate with us or manage economic collapse.

Iran’s economy is especially grim because the autocratic rule of the ayatollahs has proven to be an economic catastrophe for the Iranian people. Exports are down, the economy is in deep contraction, the budget – the government budget is facing unprecedented pressures it cannot fix, and access to foreign reserves is minimal. The United States will continue its successful strategy of maximum economic pressure and diplomatic isolation.

Like Pompeo, Hook referenced Ayatollah Khamenei’s invocation of “The Final Solution,” Nazi German’s plan to exterminate the Jews.

“His regime was condemned widely, as it should be, but it underscores the very real threat this regime poses. No country that threatens to annihilate Israel or any nation should be allowed the means to do so,” Hook said.

Assistant Secretary Christopher Ford noted at the briefing that sanctions waivers have “gradually been taken down one by one, with this as the latest step in that progression.” He made an assessment that Iran probably lacks the resources and expertise to resume nuclear weapons development in retaliation for the waivers ending, suggesting that Tehran’s previous efforts had some foreign assistance that will no longer be readily available to them, and predicting the Iranian regime will be reluctant to take depts that would “antagonize the remaining participants in the JCPOA.”

Hook cited threats of a “crushing response if the arms embargo on Tehran is extended” by Iranian President Hassan Rouhani – ostensibly the “moderate” leader of Iran, compared to the “hardliner” Khamenei – as evidence the JCPOA “has failed to moderate the regime.” Ford asserted the economic damage to Iran from President Trump’s pressure campaign has done far more to moderate the regime in practice, if not in its desires, than the JCPOA did.

“We believe the [United Nations] Security Council has to reject Rouhani’s extortion,” Hook said of the arms embargo.

Fox News on Thursday quoted some non-proliferation analysts who worried that ending the waivers will make Iran feel justified in resuming prohibited nuclear activities, while Radio Farda cited supporters of the nuclear deal who said some of the work facilitated by the waivers is “humanitarian in nature.” Critics of the JCPOA have long maintained that work performed on nuclear medicine, for example, uses equipment and produces materials that could be repurposed for weapons research.

Radio Farda noted that Pompeo wanted to terminate the waivers in March, but Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin favored extending them for one more 60-day period, arguing that it would be politically difficult to end the waivers “at a time when the administration is being criticized for refusing to ease sanctions to deal with the [coronavirus] outbreak.” Iran constantly complains that U.S. sanctions hindered its response to the pandemic.

[CR]

Trump Imposed New Sanctions on Iran 2020


Iran Lion and Sun Flag Revolution Fist Protest Poster of Iran Politics Club

Iran Nationwide Protests Political Posters
https://iranpoliticsclub.net/animation- ... /index.htm

New Sanctions on Iran in Effect
Sanctions are Suffocating the Islamist Regime of Tehran
Oil Revenues are 80 % Down

IRI Must be Brought Down to its Knees
Life Must be Squeezed Out of the IRI Regime
Iran’s Economy is in the Tank

IRI Must Either Join the Civilized world or Collapse
Hegemony in Middle East & Iran Lobby Cannot Save IRI
We Shall Do Our Best to Push an Uprising

Death to Spiritual Leader of IRI, Fabricated Imam Khamenei
Death to the Mullahs, IRGC and Hezbollah
Death to Islam, Islamists and Islamic Republic of Iran

*

Statement by the President Regarding New Restrictions on Iran’s Nuclear, Ballistic Missile, and Conventional Weapons Pursuits

Today, I am taking new actions to restrict Iran’s nuclear, ballistic missile, and conventional weapons pursuits. My Administration will never allow Iran to have a nuclear weapon, nor will we allow Iran to endanger the rest of the world with a fresh supply of ballistic missiles and conventional arms. To ensure this cannot happen, I am issuing a new Executive Order, restoring United Nations (UN) sanctions on Iran, and imposing new sanctions and export controls on more than two dozen entities and individuals that support Iran’s nuclear, missile, and conventional arms-related activities.

The Executive Order I am issuing today blocks the property, and interests in property, in the United States of those who contribute to the supply, sale, or transfer of conventional arms to or from Iran, as well as those who provide technical training, financial support and services, and other assistance related to these arms. This Executive Order is critical to enforcing the UN arms embargo on Iran. The order will greatly diminish the Iranian regime’s capacity to export arms to terrorists and dangerous actors throughout the region, as well as its ability to acquire weapons to build up its own forces.

Today, my Administration is also imposing new sanctions and export control measures on 27 entities and individuals connected to Iran’s proliferation networks. These actions target the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran for its role in Iran’s nuclear escalation, the Iranian missile organization Shahid Hemmat Industrial Group for facilitating ballistic missile development, and two Iranian entities for their involvement in the transfer and acquisition of conventional arms.

The United States has now restored UN sanctions on Iran. The Iranian regime has repeatedly lied about its secret nuclear weapons archive and denied access to international inspectors, further exposing the deep flaws of the last administration’s failed nuclear deal from which I withdrew the United States. The world cannot afford to sit idly by as Iran builds a nuclear weapon. My Administration is restoring these sanctions as part of our efforts to ensure that never happens.

My actions today send a clear message to the Iranian regime and those in the international community who refuse to stand up to Iran. The United States will not allow the Iranian regime to further advance capabilities to directly threaten and terrorize the rest of the world. My Administration will use every tool at our disposal to stop Iran’s nuclear, ballistic missile, and conventional weapons pursuits. The Iranian regime must change its behavior if it hopes to provide what the Iranian people so desperately want and deserve: a thriving and prosperous Iran.

Video

President Trump Addresses the 75th Session of the United Nations General Assembly
https://youtu.be/MWFQ0sHnutk

White House YouTube
https://www.youtube.com/user/whitehouse

White House Site
https://www.whitehouse.gov/


Free Iran from Islam IRI Skull Protest Poster of Iran Politics Club

[Atusa Qajar]

US sanctions Iran’s court system

Watch the video and this important article:

US sanctions Iran’s court system over execution of wrestler, other alleged abuses
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/us-wil ... ged-abuses

[IPC]

New US Sanctions on 18 Iranian Banks
New Sanctions on Iranian Financial Institutions
US Choking the Iranian Economy

Maximum Pressure is Choking the IRI
Regime is Practically Bankrupt
Protests are Popping Up Everywhere

Sanctions are Drowning the IRI Regime
IRI Endorses Joe Biden & Democrats
IRI Hopes for a Biden Victory


Iran Nuclear File Cartoon
Uncle Sam lends a helping hand to Khamenei drowning in the quicksand of the Iranian economy for the nuclear file cartoon

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US imposes new Iran sanctions that may spook European banks

Israel Hayom
https://www.israelhayom.com/

New measures target 18 banks in an effort to further choke off Iranian revenues as Washington ramps up pressure on Tehran weeks ahead of the US election.

The United States on Thursday slapped fresh sanctions on Iran's financial sector, targeting 18 banks in an effort to further choke off Iranian revenues as Washington ramps up pressure on Tehran weeks ahead of the US election.

The move freezes any US assets of those blacklisted and generally bars Americans from dealing with them, while extending secondary sanctions to those who do business with them. This means foreign banks risk losing access to the US market and financial system.

The Treasury Department said in a statement the prohibitions did not apply to transactions to sell agricultural commodities, food, medicine or medical devices to Iran, saying it understood the need for humanitarian goods.

However, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif accused the United States of targeting Iran's ability to pay for basic necessities during the COVID-19 pandemic.

"US regime wants to blow up our remaining channels to pay for food & medicine," Zarif said on Twitter. "Conspiring to starve a population is a crime against humanit

Iranian Central Bank governor Abdolnaser Hemmati dismissed the sanctions as political propaganda and played down their practical impact.

"Rather than having any economic effect, the American move is for US domestic propaganda and political purposes, and shows the falsity of the human rights and humanitarian claims of US leaders," Hemmati said in a statement.

Analysts said the secondary sanctions may further deter European and other foreign banks from working with Iran, even for permitted humanitarian transactions.

"It's like a punch in the face to the Europeans, who have gone out of their way to indicate to the Americans that they view it as being extremely threatening to humanitarian assistance or humanitarian trade going to Iran," said Elizabeth Rosenberg of the Center for a New American Security think tank.

"They also want ... to make it very difficult for any future president to be able to unwind these measures and engage in nuclear diplomacy," Rosenberg added, alluding to the possibility that Democratic candidate Joe Biden could defeat Republican President Donald Trump in the Nov. 3 US election.

Biden, who was vice president when the Obama administration negotiated the nuclear accord, has said he would rejoin the deal if Iran first resumed compliance with it.

Tensions between Washington and Tehran have soared since Trump unilaterally withdrew in 2018 from the 2015 Iran nuclear deal struck by his predecessor and began re-imposing US sanctions that had been eased under the accord.

The sanctions Trump has reinstated target everything from oil sales to shipping and financial activities. While they exempt food, medicine and other humanitarian supplies, many foreign banks are already deterred from doing business with the Islamic Republic - including for humanitarian deals.

Washington's latest move targeted what the Treasury described as 18 major Iranian banks, which were designated under authorities including US Executive Order 13902, which allows the Treasury Department to target entire sectors of the Iranian economy.

It named them as

Amin Investment Bank
Bank Keshavarzi Iran
Bank Maskan
Bank Refah Kargaran
Bank-e Shahr
Eghtesad Novin Bank
Gharzolhasaneh Resalat Bank
Hekmat Iranian Bank
Iran Zamin Bank
Karafarin Bank
Khavarmianeh Bank
Mehr Iran Credit Union Bank
Pasargad Bank
Saman Bank
Sarmayeh Bank
Tosee Taavon Bank
Tourism Bank
Islamic Regional Cooperation Bank

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Sanctions on Iran’s Financial Institutions

Department of State: Iran Sanctions
https://www.state.gov/iran-sanctions/

Department of State
https://www.state.gov/

PRESS STATEMENT

MICHAEL R. POMPEO, SECRETARY OF STATE

OCTOBER 8, 2020

Today, the United States is identifying the Iranian financial sector as subject to the terms of Executive Order (E.O.) 13902 and sanctioning 18 major Iranian banks, further depriving the Islamic Republic of Iran of funds to carry out its support for terrorist activities and nuclear extortion that threatens the world. These sanctions will take effect following a 45-day wind down period. This action includes imposing sanctions on 17 Iranian banks pursuant to E.O. 13902 for operating in Iran’s financial sector, or for being owned or controlled by sanctioned Iranian banks, and the designation of an additional Iranian military-affiliated bank pursuant to E.O. 13382, a counter-proliferation authority. Our maximum economic pressure campaign will continue until Iran is willing to conclude a comprehensive negotiation that addresses the regime’s malign behavior.

In March, while COVID-19 was spreading through Iran, regime officials asked Supreme Leader Khamenei to urgently release funds to respond to the outbreak. Despite Khamenei’s assurances to do so, Iran’s Health Minister revealed last week that the Health Ministry had received only a small fraction of those funds. The Health Minister asked “What are they using it for that could be more important?” We know the answer. In 2018 and 2019, Khamenei raided $4 billion from the Iranian National Development Fund for military expenses. And while the Health Ministry was pleading for resources to protect the Iranian people from the outbreak, Khamenei instead increased funding for the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, a designated Foreign Terrorist Organization, by a third, and doubled the funding for the regime’s Basij forces that terrorize the Iranian people every single day.

Our sanctions are directed at the regime and its corrupt officials that have used the wealth of the Iranian people to fuel a radical, revolutionary cause that has brought untold suffering across the Middle East and beyond. The United States continues to stand with the Iranian people, the longest-suffering victims of the regime’s predations. Today’s actions pursuant to E.O. 13902 do not affect existing authorizations and exceptions for humanitarian exports to Iran, which remain in full force and effect. This action also does not affect activities authorized by the Iran Transactions and Sanctions Regulations (ITSR). For additional information, please see the Department of the Treasury and OFAC websites. We are committed to continuing the Iranian people’s access to humanitarian goods and other essential goods and services, and we reaffirm the United States’ offer to assist Iran in its response efforts to the COVID-19 outbreak.

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Treasury Sanctions Eighteen Major Iranian Banks

October 8, 2020

WASHINGTON – Today, the Secretary of the Treasury, in consultation with the Secretary of State, identified the financial sector of the Iranian economy pursuant to section 1(a)(I) of Executive Order (E.O.) 13902, which authorizes Treasury to sanction any Iranian financial institution. Subsequently, the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) sanctioned eighteen major Iranian banks. As part of this action, OFAC sanctioned sixteen Iranian banks for operating in Iran’s financial sector and one bank for being owned or controlled by a sanctioned Iranian bank. Additionally, today’s action includes the designation of an Iranian military-affiliated bank under Treasury’s counter-proliferation authority.

“Today’s action to identify the financial sector and sanction eighteen major Iranian banks reflects our commitment to stop illicit access to U.S. dollars,” said Secretary Steven T. Mnuchin. “Our sanctions programs will continue until Iran stops its support of terrorist activities and ends its nuclear programs. Today’s actions will continue to allow for humanitarian transactions to support the Iranian people.”

Treasury’s action was taken pursuant to E.O. 13902, which provides authority to identify and impose sanctions on key sectors of Iran’s economy in order to deny the Iranian government financial resources that may be used to fund and support its nuclear program, missile development, terrorism and terrorist proxy networks, and malign regional influence. Treasury also sanctioned one bank pursuant to E.O. 13382, which provides authority to impose sanctions on proliferators of weapons of mass destruction (WMD) and their supporters.

The action under E.O. 13902 does not affect existing authorizations and exceptions for humanitarian trade, which remain in full force and effect for these seventeen banks. This action also does not affect activities subject to a State Department-issued waiver or exception, or activities subject to an OFAC general or specific license.

SANCTIONS ON INSTITUTIONS OPERATING IN IRAN’S FINANCIAL SECTOR

Under the provisions of E.O. 13902, the Secretary of the Treasury identified the financial sector of Iran’s economy as an additional avenue that funds the Iranian government’s malign activities. Today’s sanctions targeted major banks operating in Iran’s financial sector.

Amin Investment Bank, Bank Keshavarzi Iran, Bank Maskan, Bank Refah Kargaran, Bank-e Shahr, Eghtesad Novin Bank, Gharzolhasaneh Resalat Bank, Hekmat Iranian Bank, Iran Zamin Bank, Karafarin Bank, Khavarmianeh Bank (also known as Middle East Bank), Mehr Iran Credit Union Bank, Pasargad Bank, Saman Bank, Sarmayeh Bank, Tosee Taavon Bank (also known as Cooperative Development Bank), and Tourism Bank were previously identified as Iranian financial institutions pursuant to E.O. 13599. Today, they were sanctioned as entities operating in Iran’s financial sector.

Additionally, Islamic Regional Cooperation Bank, also previously identified as an Iranian financial institution under E.O. 13599, was sanctioned pursuant to E.O. 13902 for being owned or controlled by Eghtesad Novin Bank.

In May 2020, Hekmat Iranian Bank, a bank servicing Iran’s armed forces, merged with Bank Sepah, which has served as a financial platform for Iran’s Ministry of Defense and Armed Forces Logistics (MODAFL) to pay its agents abroad. Bank Sepah was designated on November 5, 2018 pursuant to E.O. 13382 for having provided support to MODAFL. Today, Hekmat Iranian Bank was also designated pursuant to E.O. 13382, as an entity owned or controlled by Bank Sepah.

The banks sanctioned today are subject to the supervision and regulation by the Central Bank of Iran (CBI), which was previously designated under E.O. 13224 for providing support to the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC), its Qods Force (IRGC-QF), and its terrorist proxy, Hizballah.

SANCTIONS IMPLICATIONS

All property and interests in property of designated targets that are in the United States or in the possession or control of U.S. persons must be blocked and reported to OFAC. OFAC’s regulations generally prohibit all dealings by U.S. persons or within the United States (including transactions transiting the United States) that involve any property or interests in property of blocked or designated persons.

In addition, financial institutions and other persons that engage in certain transactions or activities with the sanctioned entities after a 45-day wind-down period may expose themselves to secondary sanctions or be subject to an enforcement action.

Today’s action targets the Iranian regime and is not directed at the people of Iran. The U.S. government recognizes and understands the necessity for both commercial humanitarian exports and humanitarian transactions to access Iran’s banking system, and this action does not interfere with that ability. Concurrent with this action, OFAC is issuing a general license pursuant to E.O. 13902, authorizing transactions and activities involving Iranian financial institutions sanctioned under E.O. 13902 that are authorized, exempt, or otherwise not prohibited under the Iranian Transactions and Sanctions Regulations. For details, see General License L. In addition, OFAC is providing a 45-day period for non-U.S. persons to wind down non-humanitarian transactions that may become subject to sanctions as a result of sanctions under E.O. 13902.

OFAC is also issuing guidance in the form of FAQs, which set forth the 45-day wind down, provide further guidance on the scope of General License L, and outline the effects of sanctions under E.O. 13902 on U.S. and non-U.S. persons engaged in humanitarian trade and certain other transactions involving Iran, including non-U.S. persons’ secondary sanctions exposure. For specific information on humanitarian trade with Iran, reference OFAC’s FAQs and important advisories.