World Threats

These from our friends in Iran. Sanctions are working.

Tehran, July 12, 2010. In its editorial Resalat state-run daily wrote: “the US congress has approved a new wave of unilateral sanctions against Iran’s energy and banking after Iran did not accept western countries’ demand for stopping its nuclear activities. The US president signed the bill for preventing Iran from having access to oil products. The daily then started threatening and wrote: “Iran possesses many factors through which it can turn US position in the region to a deplorable situation. The analysts in west have pointed to some of these factors such as the very effective reaction of Hezbollah, Iran’s power in security balance of Iraq and Afghanistan against US and usage of mines and missiles to control Hormoz Strait”.

In its article ‘Expenses of Iran’s sanction for Obama’ Jomhori state-run daily wrote: “in continuation to its anti-Iranian policies Barak Obama, US president signed the bill of US unilateral sanctions against Iran preventing oil-products imports for Iran and imposing banking limitations on the country. Signing these sanctions Obama claimed: ‘with these sanctions we aimed at the heart of Iran’s government for providing the cost of its nuclear programs’. The path the ‘change-seeking’ Obama has stepped in is no difference from the ‘warmongering’ policies of Bush”.
In its political note, Kayhan Daily, Khamenei’s organ while expressing its concern wrote: “the truth is that resolution 1929 aims at very broader pressures on the Islamic Republic; both sanctions imposed by the west meaning Europe and US and the sanctions that is imposed by UN as the result of the pressure US and her allies impose on UN”.

Tehran, July 13, 2010. The sanctions work. Though the clerical regime is offering its oil cheaper to the buyers it is still facing problems for selling it. China, India and Japan have drastically reduced the amount of oil they buy from Iran and are trying to find substitutes for Iran’s oil. In addition to that due to recent sanctions by Security Council and unilateral sanctions of US and Europe many insurance and transportation companies are not willing to work with regime for transport of its oil throughout the world. Most of oil sellers prefer to deliver oil at the place of its production to the buyers so that they won’t need to pay transfer cost but the clerical regime is not enjoying this privilege due to sanctions.

The cost of this transportation has lowered the price that an oil buyer pays in comparison with global oil prices. Depending on the destination of the oil regime might have to give a discount of three to seven dollars (per barrel).
During last month regime had kept 15 huge oil-carriers at ports of Iran and United Arab Emirates as its oil storage. During last two weeks it had deployed 6 of them containing 2 million barrels of oil towards Europe to hand them over to the buyers.

Tehran, July 13, 2010. Article No.15 of resolution 1929 permits inspection of regime’s ships in free seas. According to this resolution different countries can inspect suspicious ships belonging to clerical regime in free seas. Article 18 also asks the member countries to deprive suspicious ships of receiving services. In addition article 20 of this resolution asks the member countries of UN to report suspicious activities of regime’s cruise lines to the Committee for Supervision of Security Council. Cruise lines are vital for regime because Iran has seas at its north and south. A great volume of regime’s trade is done via these two seas. Arya Cruising Company which was called Islamic Republic Cruising Company after 1979 anti-monarchy resolution is amongst the largest 20 companies of its kind.

The capacity of this company is transport of 5.5 million tons of goods. It has 161 ships 95 of which can cross ocean.
In addition to that regime has 12 other Cruising Companies in Iran and four more abroad and the number of the related offices reaches 180 throughout the world. To counter act this part of sanctions the clerical regime has tried registering some of the ships in foreign countries and small Islands to use their flags. It has changed the names of the ships and companies. Many of these measures have been disclosed. The clerical regime has threatened that if its ships are inspected it will behave the same but the observers say that IRGC’s naval force has no power to act against US’s fifth fleet and her allies.