Obama Follows Through On Promise, Imposes Sanctions On Iran Banking System

Following through on his earlier promises President Barack Obama on Monday placed harsh sanctions on the Iranian banking system. Under the sanctions all Iran government and central bank assets held in the U.S. and foreign branches of a U.S. entity have been frozen.

Skirting away from the issue of nuclear weapons the President said action needed to be taken because of “deceptive practices” discovered at the Iranian Central Bank, practices Obama says pose an “unacceptable risk” to the international financial system.

The President had already froze assets belonging directly to Iranian entities or individuals however the new President’s new executive order blacks all property and interests in property belonging to the Iranian government, its central bank, and all Iranian financial institutions.

According to Section 1. (a) of the order

All property and interests in property of the Government of Iran, including the Central Bank of Iran, that are in the United States, that hereafter come within the United States, or that are or hereafter come within the possession or control of any United States person, including any foreign branch, are blocked and may not be transferred, paid, exported, withdrawn, or otherwise dealt in.

The sanction also states under part (b):

All property and interests in property of any Iranian financial institution, including the Central Bank of Iran, that are in the United States, that hereafter come within the United States, or that are or hereafter come within the possession or control of any United States person, including any foreign branch, are blocked and may not be transferred, paid, exported, withdrawn, or otherwise dealt in.

You can find the full Iran Banking Sanction: HERE

The new sanctions were mandated by Congress and signed by the President on Dec. 31.

In his Congressional notification President Obama stated:

“I have determined that additional sanctions are warranted, particularly in light of the deceptive practices of the Central Bank of Iran and other Iranian banks to conceal transactions of sanctioned parties, the deficiencies in Iran’s anti-money laundering regime and the weaknesses in its implementation, and the continuing and unacceptable risk posed to the international financial system by Iran’s activities.”

Do you think far reaching sanctions against the Iran banking system were necessary?