New Congressional Bill Seeks ‘Solidified’ US Sanctions On Iran

Senate Foreign Relations Committee ranking Republic, Sen. Jim Risch tweeted on Thursday that the “The Iranian regime seeks JCPOA guarantees from the Biden Administration that it will end the IAEA probe, protect Western companies operating in Iran, and allow Iran to accelerate nuclear weapons work if a future administration exits the deal.”

The key phrase here is “The Iranian regime seeks,” which is different from a claim that the Biden Administration has agreed to make the concessions. But the National Security Council was quick to respond to the tweet within the hour.

“Nothing here is true. We would never accept such terms. We also would not have left a deal that was working only to see Iran massively accelerate its nuclear program.”

Before Senator Risch’s tweet however, information emerged from Iran that regime hardliners were circulating a list of what they called “US concessions”, including lifting of some non-nuclear sanctions, which the Biden Administration has insisted it would not do.

The claim by hardliners in Tehran, however, was different from Sen. Risch’s points and the National Security Council tweet did not specifically address these.

One crucial point mentioned in Tehran was allegedly the lifting of sanctions imposed, for non-nuclear reasons, on a large conglomerate controlled by Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.

Iran International asked the State Department about the Iranian claims, but the press office referred our reporter Samira Gharaei to the National Security Council tweet, which in fact had only addressed Sen. Risch’s claims.

It would be normal perhaps for the State Department not to respond to unofficial claims by politicians who do not formally represent a government.

The government-controlled media in Iran also chose not to report the claims by the hardliners.

Negotiations to restore the 2015 nuclear deal, JCPOA, have reached a crucial stage where Iran is awaiting the US response to a text it sent to the European Union on August 15. EU sources said Thursday that the US response may come “at any moment”, perhaps on Friday.

The only significant news on the nuclear talks in the Iranian press on Friday was a report on remarks by Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf (Qalibaf) at a ceremony Thursday evening.

The Speaker accused the US of bullying Iran and said, “If we don’t stand up to that country, they will not back down. Therefore, we should become more powerful.”

Referring to a law passed by parliament in December 2020 that mandated more uranium enrichment and reduction in monitoring access for the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Ghalibaf said “nothing happened” when Iran disconnected the IAEA cameras in its nuclear installations… [on the contrary] “America again returned to the negotiating table.”

According to this information, the implementation of a nuclear agreement will take 120 days during which a series of steps will be taken by both sides, including the release of Iranians imprisoned in the United States for violating US sanctions and other acts for the benefit of Iran’s government, and US citizens held hostage in Iran.

Iranian hardliners who are circulating the information call it a list of “concessions” by the United States, but this claim cannot be verified.

They include the immediate release of $7 billion frozen in two South Korean banks and annulment of three executive orders signed by former President Donald Trump after he withdrew from the 2015 nuclear deal or the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, the JCPOA.

Also, Iran will be allowed to sell 50 million barrels of oil in the 120-day period, presumably with the necessary arrangements for receiving the proceeds through legal banking channels.

Currently, Iran ships its oil primarily to China in clandestine ways and it is not clear how much cash it receives and how much of the trade is based on barter.

The legal sale of 50 million barrels at current crude oil prices would generate another $4 billion for Iran in the first 120 days. The oil in question is most probably what Iran has stockpiled, trying to find customers. There were reports in the past that Tehran might have stored up to 100 million barrels both on land and on tankers.

Also, the information circulating says that sanctions imposed on 17 banks will be removed, which would most probably include the Central Bank of Iran. All other sanctioned Iranian banks are either directly owned by the government or are quasi-state banks, some probably also affiliated with the Revolutionary Guard (IRGC).

Sanctions will be removed from 150 institutions or entities, again all affiliated with the state or with centers of power such as “charitable” organizations linked to the office of the Supreme Leader and possibly the IRGC. However, not having the list of these entities it is hard to be certain.

One name mentioned is a huge business conglomerate, presented as a charity, directly run by Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei’s office. The entity is called The Execution of Imam Khomeini's Order (EIKO), which is known in Persian simply as Setad.

The Biden Administration has been claiming that it will not lift non-nuclear sanctions, such as those imposed for links to terrorism, Iran’s missile program or human rights violations. EIKO was sanctioned on January 13, 2021, days before President trump left office, under the Executive Order (E.O.) 13876, which was imposed for Iran’s regional destabilizing activities and its missile program.

Finally, the information received by Iran International indicates that an exemption will be granted to companies engaging with Iran in case the US withdraws from the agreement and re-imposes sanctions. The duration of this exemption is not mentioned, but it was reported this week that it could be as long as one year.

US Republicans and other critics of reviving the JCPOA under these conditions say that if Democrats lose control of the US Congress, they will derail President Joe Biden’s concessions to Iran.

Referring to ongoing nuclear talks with Iran, Haley said the US should, “not shake hands and do a deal with him” as he is “openly trying to execute Americans on our soil.”

She echoed similar remarks by advocacy group United Against Nuclear Iran (UANI), which called for designating Khamenei as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist under US Executive Order 13224 and other international terrorism authorities.

Underlining that Khamenei is the commander-in-chief of Iran’s Armed Forces, and the country’s Revolutionary Guard (IRGC) as well as directly in charge of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, the UANI said since Khamenei became supreme leader, the Islamic Republic has “taken multiple foreign citizens hostage,” "ordered terrorist attacks.

UANI mentioned the bombings of Asociacion Mutual Israelita Argentina (AMIA) and Khobar Towers,” and "attempted mass casualty attacks in Europe where Americans were present,” referring to the failed bombing plot at a gathering of the Albania-based opposition group Mujahedin-e-Khalq Organization (MEK). 

The group also referred to plotted assassinations and attacks against current and former US and foreign officials, including former National Security Advisor John Bolton, former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, former Secretary of Defense Mark Esper, and former US Special Envoy for Iran Brian Hook, as well as inciting assassinations and abductions against US citizens and permanent residents, including author Salman Rushdie, and Iranian American dissident Masih Alinejad.

Hossein Shariatmadari, the editor of the Kayhan daily, the flagship hardliner newspaper affiliated with the Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei argued on Thursday that no guarantee by the United States is worth the paper it is written on.

“I would dare to say that no guarantee from the United States is reliable” or valid Shariatmadari wrote, recounting the withdrawal of the Trump administration from the 2015 nuclear agreement, the JCPOA.

The ultra-hardliner editor is also Khamenei’s representative at the Kayhan.

As nuclear talks between Iran and the West have reached a critical stage, with the Biden administration reviewing the latest written Iranian response to a European Union text, some Khamenei loyalists continue to make more demands. But Shriatmadari’s article was re-published in most Iranian websites on Wednesday, even those considered to be “reformist’.

Shariatmadari, writing in his Editor’s Note, questioned the value of any US guarantee, a key demand by Iranian negotiators that is still preventing an agreement. Referring to the unilateral withdrawal of the Trump administration from the JCPOA, he said that Washington can again easily renege and abandon any new agreement.

He even fired a shot at foreign minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian for saying that a US verbal guarantee should be presented in writing.

Shariatmadari dismissed this demand, saying that no US guarantee, even endorsed by the UN Security Council, can be trusted.

He argued that the only guarantee for Iran would be wording in the new agreement that it will withdraw from the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) if the United States once again abandons a restored JCPOA. He said Iran would be accountable to no one, not even the United Nations, if it decides to leave the NPT.

Leaving the non-proliferation agreement would mean no international monitoring of Iran’s nuclear activities, Shariatmadari said, assuring readers that there would be no consequence for Iran, as article 10 of the treaty allows signatories to withdraw from the agreement.

The Khamenei loyalist also demanded that all US sanctions should be verifiably lifted, not just those imposed since 2018 when former President Donald Trump exited the JCPOA. If sanctions imposed “under hostile and ad hoc labels such as human rights, regional presence or missile program” stay, then it means no sanctions have been removed and new ones can be imposed in the future, Shariatmadari argued.

Since the US presidential election in November 2020, and Biden’s announcement that he would return to the JCPOA, Iran has been demanding the removal of all sanctions, but Washington says it will not lift terrorism and other non-nuclear sanctions.

Iran’s negotiating team “has stood against excessive demands of the rival” so far, but they should “demand the removal of all sanctions in the upcoming agreement,” no matter what their label might be, Shariatmadari said. Otherwise, “Rest assured that practically no sanction can be considered lifted.”

In an interview with Etemad Onlinein Tehran Safari, Deputy Foreign Minister for Economic Affairs explained that Iran relies on Russia for importing essential commodities and in return exports cement to Russia. "We lend our export capability to Russia," he said, adding that "Our trade volume with Russia is $5 billon and we want to increase it to $10 billion."

Safari said Russia is a powerful country in oil and gas and can invest in Iran in the same areas while also transferring technology to Iran. He added that "Iran can also swap Russia's gas and oil with other countries. We get gas from one country and sell it to another country and make some profit. This is our economic and geopolitical potential."

Lately, Iranian officials have spoken about gas swap with Russia. Receiving natural gas and selling it to neighboring countries. But in reality, only Iraq is need of gas, but it is not a customer of Russia.

Safari, who has studied electronic engineering and telecommunications at George Washington University is introduced by Iranian media as a Russia expert. The Etemad Online reporter characterized him as a man with a conservative character who refused to remove his face mask during the interview.

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Meanwhile, Safari, a former Iranian ambassador to Russia and China, told Etemad Online that Iran has signed barter trade contracts with up to ten countries despite US sanctions, however, he declined to name those countries. Safari added that barter trade is Iran's solution to circumvent the sanctions.

He has been a member of Iran's nuclear negotiators team since the 2010s when ultraconservative politician Saeed Jalili was in charge of the negotiations. During the interview, says the reporter, he declined to share many information points, fearing that "the other side might take advantage."

Safari told Etemad Online that "sanctions do not mean death and there are many ways to nullify them." However, his only solution was barter trade. He said that despite the sanctions there are many ways to further international trade although sanctions mainly affect international banking. Asked what those ways were, Safari once again referred to barter.

He disagreed with Etemad Online that barter trade will inevitably increase the cost of transactions. While this can be true in normal circumstances, Iran faces sanctions and countries that agree to barter trade with Tehran would use it as leverage to enhance their profits. Barter also deprives the country of foreign currency it can invest for economic growth.

Prominent economic journalist Maryam Shokrani wrote in a series of tweets on Sunday, August 14, that "Russia has quoted a price ten times higher than usual for work on projects in Iran." She quoted the Transportation and Logistics Confederation as saying that "Iran is about to conclude a contract with Russia for constructing a railway between Garmsar and Inceborun.”

The reporter also quoted Meysam Lajevardi, a rail transport expert, as saying that a German company has offered a contract at one tenth of that amount for the same project."

Shjokrani added that Russia had offered no bank guarantee to Iran for that contract and wanted to bring 80 percent of the personnel needed for the project from Russia. She added that the government of President Hassan Rouhani had accepted those unlawful conditions and it appears that the Raisi administration has also submitted to the same conditions.