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Today's Zaman, Turkey
Aug 26 2012
`Iran running out of alternate routes to bypass sanctions'
26 August 2012 / GÃ-ZDE NUR DONAT , ANKARA
The Iranian regime is running out of alternative routes to ease the
pressure of the sanctions upon it, even though it is trying very hard
to expand its banking foothold in ally countries, most significantly
Armenia and Iraq, and to make behind-the-curtain deals on its
petroleum and natural gas with many international actors, according to
Middle East experts.
Talks between Iran and the P5+1 (five permanent members of the UN
Security Council, the United States, Russia, China, Britain and
France, as well as Germany) in Moscow in June failed to end the
standoff over Tehran's nuclear activities, including its enrichment of
uranium, which Western nations fear is part of a bid for nuclear
weapons capability.
Iran is trying to conceal payments to and from foreign clients and
deceive Western intelligence agencies trying to prevent it from
expanding its nuclear and missile programs through its banking and
trade relations, especially in Armenia and Iraq, international media
outlets reported.
Arif Keskin, a prominent Iran analyst, has told Sunday's Zaman that
trying to bypass sanctions via Armenia and Iraq will not give any
advantage to Iran, considering its ever-deteriorating economic
situation.
`If Iran could withstand the sanctions, its inflation rate would not
rise that much. The crisis situation is worsening every day in the
country,' Keskin claimed. He maintained that the rate of inflation in
the country has risen to 200 percent, while the announced rate of
inflation is only 44 percent.
He also mentioned that Iran's prominent place in the Organization of
the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) has also deteriorated to a
significant degree, with Iraqi oil exports now ranking highest after
Saudi Arabia, displacing Iran. `As major purchasers of Iranian oil
Japan and China had to decrease their trade with Iran, the help of its
smaller buyers and its allies could not save the country from the drop
in demand,' Keskin stated.
Turkish oil and natural gas imports from Iran are also at a
significant level, but Turkey has recently exerted efforts to
diversify its oil trade, approaching countries such as Libya and Saudi
Arabia. Turkey purchased more than 50 percent of its crude oil and 18
percent of its natural gas from Iran, according to 2011 figures. But a
report by the Energy Market Regulatory Agency (EPDK) in June showed
that the Turkish crude oil purchases from Iran have decreased by 22
percent.
The United States has been trying to cease most of its trade with Iran
since 1996 with a series of sanctions, intending to respond to Iran's
nuclear program and its support for Hezbollah and Hamas. Observers say
the Iranian people have had a modest standard of living for years,
including forgoing luxury goods, due to those sanctions.
However, the latest round of sanctions targeting the petroleum sector
seems to have stricken the country in the heart. Rampant inflation,
price hikes on food and the drop in foreign currency have rendered
officials and the people helpless. Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah
Ali Khamenei recently announced a `war economy' in the country due to
the dire economic situation.
Regarding Iran's trade with Armenia, an important ally for the mullah
regime in the Caucasus, it includes an oil pipeline that Armenian news
reports say should be finished in 2014 and requires some form of
cross-border banking. Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has said
that Iran's annual trade with Armenia is around $1 billion, according
to Iranian news reports.
Iran has used Iraqi banks to move large amounts of cash into the
international banking system, prompting private US protests to
Baghdad.
Measures approved by the US Congress on Aug. 1 build on oil trade
sanctions signed into law by President Barack Obama in December, which
have prompted Japan, South Korea, India and others to slash purchases
of Iranian oil.
Also, the White House has issued a written statement mentioning an
important step to hold accountable the institutions insisting on
making financial transfers for Iranian banks under sanctions. The
statement noted that US Department of the Treasury has singled out the
Iraqi Elaf Islamic Bank and Chinese Kunlun Bank as part of a network
of financial institutions and oil-smuggling operations, banning US
firms from doing business with those banks.
Iranian accounts in many Turkish banks have also been frozen since
early 2012 due to those sanctions.
Also in remarks to Sunday's Zaman, Assistant Professor Süleyman Elik,
who teaches international relations at Ä°stanbul's Medeniyet
University, emphasized that Turkey's trade relations with Iran have
also been harmed due to the conflicting positions of the two countries
on the Syrian crisis. `Eighty percent of the Iranian economy is in the
hands of Revolutionary Guards. Actually those However these relations
have been damaged to a significant degree due to tense relations with
Turkey because of the Syrian crisis,' Elik said.
Engaging in transactions with Iranian banks is not a violation of
international sanctions as long as it is not linked to Iran's nuclear
or missile programs or companies or individuals under US, EU or UN
sanctions.
US diplomats also say that Iran has been trying to develop financial
channels focusing on countries like Malaysia, China, India and Brazil.
In remarks to Sunday's Zaman, Necdet Pamir, an energy policy expert
and World Energy Council Turkish National Committee board member,
stated that Iran is a country that has survived decades of sanctions.
`Even though the US and EU are implementing their sanctions overtly,
many other countries including Norway, China and others are looking
out for their trade and long-term interests there. None of them have
an interest in bringing the Iranian regime to heel,' Pamir said.
From: Baghdasarian
Aug 26 2012
`Iran running out of alternate routes to bypass sanctions'
26 August 2012 / GÃ-ZDE NUR DONAT , ANKARA
The Iranian regime is running out of alternative routes to ease the
pressure of the sanctions upon it, even though it is trying very hard
to expand its banking foothold in ally countries, most significantly
Armenia and Iraq, and to make behind-the-curtain deals on its
petroleum and natural gas with many international actors, according to
Middle East experts.
Talks between Iran and the P5+1 (five permanent members of the UN
Security Council, the United States, Russia, China, Britain and
France, as well as Germany) in Moscow in June failed to end the
standoff over Tehran's nuclear activities, including its enrichment of
uranium, which Western nations fear is part of a bid for nuclear
weapons capability.
Iran is trying to conceal payments to and from foreign clients and
deceive Western intelligence agencies trying to prevent it from
expanding its nuclear and missile programs through its banking and
trade relations, especially in Armenia and Iraq, international media
outlets reported.
Arif Keskin, a prominent Iran analyst, has told Sunday's Zaman that
trying to bypass sanctions via Armenia and Iraq will not give any
advantage to Iran, considering its ever-deteriorating economic
situation.
`If Iran could withstand the sanctions, its inflation rate would not
rise that much. The crisis situation is worsening every day in the
country,' Keskin claimed. He maintained that the rate of inflation in
the country has risen to 200 percent, while the announced rate of
inflation is only 44 percent.
He also mentioned that Iran's prominent place in the Organization of
the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) has also deteriorated to a
significant degree, with Iraqi oil exports now ranking highest after
Saudi Arabia, displacing Iran. `As major purchasers of Iranian oil
Japan and China had to decrease their trade with Iran, the help of its
smaller buyers and its allies could not save the country from the drop
in demand,' Keskin stated.
Turkish oil and natural gas imports from Iran are also at a
significant level, but Turkey has recently exerted efforts to
diversify its oil trade, approaching countries such as Libya and Saudi
Arabia. Turkey purchased more than 50 percent of its crude oil and 18
percent of its natural gas from Iran, according to 2011 figures. But a
report by the Energy Market Regulatory Agency (EPDK) in June showed
that the Turkish crude oil purchases from Iran have decreased by 22
percent.
The United States has been trying to cease most of its trade with Iran
since 1996 with a series of sanctions, intending to respond to Iran's
nuclear program and its support for Hezbollah and Hamas. Observers say
the Iranian people have had a modest standard of living for years,
including forgoing luxury goods, due to those sanctions.
However, the latest round of sanctions targeting the petroleum sector
seems to have stricken the country in the heart. Rampant inflation,
price hikes on food and the drop in foreign currency have rendered
officials and the people helpless. Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah
Ali Khamenei recently announced a `war economy' in the country due to
the dire economic situation.
Regarding Iran's trade with Armenia, an important ally for the mullah
regime in the Caucasus, it includes an oil pipeline that Armenian news
reports say should be finished in 2014 and requires some form of
cross-border banking. Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has said
that Iran's annual trade with Armenia is around $1 billion, according
to Iranian news reports.
Iran has used Iraqi banks to move large amounts of cash into the
international banking system, prompting private US protests to
Baghdad.
Measures approved by the US Congress on Aug. 1 build on oil trade
sanctions signed into law by President Barack Obama in December, which
have prompted Japan, South Korea, India and others to slash purchases
of Iranian oil.
Also, the White House has issued a written statement mentioning an
important step to hold accountable the institutions insisting on
making financial transfers for Iranian banks under sanctions. The
statement noted that US Department of the Treasury has singled out the
Iraqi Elaf Islamic Bank and Chinese Kunlun Bank as part of a network
of financial institutions and oil-smuggling operations, banning US
firms from doing business with those banks.
Iranian accounts in many Turkish banks have also been frozen since
early 2012 due to those sanctions.
Also in remarks to Sunday's Zaman, Assistant Professor Süleyman Elik,
who teaches international relations at Ä°stanbul's Medeniyet
University, emphasized that Turkey's trade relations with Iran have
also been harmed due to the conflicting positions of the two countries
on the Syrian crisis. `Eighty percent of the Iranian economy is in the
hands of Revolutionary Guards. Actually those However these relations
have been damaged to a significant degree due to tense relations with
Turkey because of the Syrian crisis,' Elik said.
Engaging in transactions with Iranian banks is not a violation of
international sanctions as long as it is not linked to Iran's nuclear
or missile programs or companies or individuals under US, EU or UN
sanctions.
US diplomats also say that Iran has been trying to develop financial
channels focusing on countries like Malaysia, China, India and Brazil.
In remarks to Sunday's Zaman, Necdet Pamir, an energy policy expert
and World Energy Council Turkish National Committee board member,
stated that Iran is a country that has survived decades of sanctions.
`Even though the US and EU are implementing their sanctions overtly,
many other countries including Norway, China and others are looking
out for their trade and long-term interests there. None of them have
an interest in bringing the Iranian regime to heel,' Pamir said.
From: Baghdasarian