More secrecy on Iran
Iran was behaving so fantastically well since agreeing to terms of the nuclear deal in July 2015 that the Obama administration decided to reward it, by supporting early sanctions relief for two of Iran’s top banks. But, like the delivery to Iran of that $1.3 billion in cash, the administration just didn’t see the need to tell anybody about it.
That appears to be part of the explanation for the administration’s decision to support the lifting of United Nations sanctions on Iran’s Bank Sepah and Bank Sepah International, which had been blacklisted for years for financing Iran’s missile program.
According to reporting this week by The Wall Street Journal, the U.S. Treasury imposed sanctions on the two banks in 2007, while the United Nations imposed separate sanctions. As part of the negotiations that led to the 2015 nuclear deal the Obama administration agreed to lift the U.S. sanctions on the banks — but the U.N. sanctions were supposed to remain in place for another eight years.
That was written into the July agreement. But the Journal reported that the talks over the banks’ status apparently continued after July, with Tehran lobbying for delisting of the banks it says are critical to its economy and ability to engage in global trade.
Quoting senior administration officials, the Journal described “a desire in Washington to harmonize the U.N. sanctions list with the U.S.’s.”
“And they said Washington believed Iran had earned more sanctions relief because Tehran had been implementing the terms of the nuclear agreement ... .”
So for adhering to the terms of a binding agreement Iran got, what? Bonus points? Extra credit?
It appears that way. And so in addition to the secret delivery of cash, and on the same day Iran released four Americans from its custody, the administration signed off on an early lifting of the U.N. sanctions on the banks.
U.S. House Speaker Paul Ryan yesterday demanded answers from the Obama administration for what he called “secret concessions.” Perhaps the administration was secretive because it didn’t want to reveal how easily it can get rolled.