Sanctions on Iran were first imposed just after the takeover of the American embassy in Teheran. After 30 years of a gradually increasing number of sanctions, Iranians are now bearing the heaviest punitive measures in the world. These measures are mostly focused on the old system of Hawales (cash payments) which is not traceable by any financial watchdogs. But instead of all these coercive measures we are far from the first expectations and Sepah’s suitcases of dollars are more blooming than ever. There are several reasons for this paradox but the main points are:
- Each day, 220 million dollars in oil revenues enter the Iranian funds, to which we must add 50% in sales of opium from Afghanistan passing through Iran and ending up in Sepah’s owned banks.
- There are also some 100 tons of goods which are daily accosted in the major harbors of the country; Bandar Abbas, Bushehr and Abadan. The part of imported items which are manufactured in US is still estimated to 250 million dollars per year! Looking for sensitive equipments among all these importations is just like searching a needle in a haystack.
- Iran has thirteen land and sea borders which are all under Sepah’s supervision. The volume of transactions from these borders varies in time and is intimately dependent to the state of the traffic on different borders. Further, the large informal trade between Dubai and Iran is estimated to 1.2 billion dollars annually and constitutes the main circumvention route of sanctions imposed to Iran.
- There are several international banks, having no exchanges with the US and which still offer their services to Sepah owned companies with an interest rate of 10 to 15%. Dubai, and its 350 Iranian companies, remains again a sieve. Despite U.S. pressure, the emirate has built part of his fortune in cash and does not waive to end its cash transactions.
- Finally, Sepah earns millions of dollars by simply selling items targeted by sanctions in black market n times their real price.
If after 30 years of tough sanctions, the repressive organ of the regime is wealthier than ever, can someone think that in a short amount of time – what is necessary for Mullahs to build their bomb – more sanctions will bring the regime into its knees? The results of the imposed sanctions are richer thugs and poorer people. Was this the initial aim of the sanctions? Though a notable diminution of their buying power, Iranians are fighting for their freedom and not feed. They are succeeding in an unprecedented struggle of a nation against barbarians. If the aim is to help people in their struggle against infamy, appropriate measures helping Iranians are much more efficient and easier to implement than blind sanctions weakening our compatriots.
References:
1. The Cambridge History of Iran Vol. 7: From Nadir Shah to the Islamic Republic
2. Report of the US Treasury designating Sepah in the traffic of Lethal narcotics
