Clipping Iran’s Wings – Winners & Losers From Congress’ New Sanctions

Iran’s aviation sector will spend much more time taxiing before takeoff if the Countering Iran’s Destabilizing Activities Act Of 2017 becomes law. The bill enjoys bipartisan support in the U. S. Senate, and the House of Representatives is considering a companion bill, the Iran Ballistic Missiles and International Sanctions Enforcement Act, which also enjoys bipartisan support.
The Senate bill has three primary provisions: (1) Imposing mandatory sanctions on persons involved with Iran’s ballistic missile program; (2) Applies terrorism sanctions to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC); Requires the President to block the property of any person or entity involved in specific activities related to the supply, sale, or transfer of prohibited arms and related material to or from Iran. The House bill primarily focuses on throttling the supply chain that supports Iran’s ballistic missile program.
The Senate and House bills have the support of Iran-wary groups, such as The American Israel Public Affairs Committee and the Foundation for Defense of Democracies who feel the bills do not violate the letter or spirit of the ‘nuclear deal,’ the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), as they do not target Iran’s nuclear program. In his Senate testimony in support of the JCPOA, then-Secretary of State John Kerry stated: ‘We’re not going to come back and just slap [sanctions] on again, but that absolutely does not mean that we are precluded from sanctioning Iranian actors, sectors, as any actions or circumstances warrant.’ The bills face opposition by JCPOA supporters, such as the National Iranian American Council, and the Public Affairs Alliance of Iranian Americans who feel additional sanctions for any reason will derail the JCPOA. (Sanctions levied by the U. S., the European Union, and the United Nations are usually for the proliferation of nuclear weapons or ballistic missile technology, support of terrorism, or egregious human rights violations.)

This post was published at Zero Hedge on Apr 7, 2017.