Tighten the Sanctions Noose on Iran

Tighten the Sanctions Noose on Iran

In his speech before the American Israel Public Affairs Committee in Washington on Sunday, President Barack Obama once again promised that the United States would not allow Iran to develop a nuclear weapon.

 

Sanctions are a key element of the president's strategy to neutralize the Iranian threat. But the Iranian regime continues to find new ways to circumvent U.S. strictures, moving billions of dollars through the global financial system. This has afforded Tehran more time and space to advance its dangerous program.

 

Mr. Obama must urgently close the loopholes, and only blanket action against all Iranian banks and foreign financial institutions with Iranian business will do the trick. Republican Sen. Mark Kirk and Democratic Rep. Brad Sherman are advancing legislation in the next few days to hone in on the problem areas and try to make American sanctions more airtight.

 

The new bill will represent the latest in a series of encouraging steps on this front in recent months. In December, Mr. Obama signed new sanctions into law against the Central Bank of Iran. The measure has squeezed the Iranian economy, encumbered oil exports and led to an acute crisis of confidence in the rial, Iran's currency, the value of which fell by half between December 2011 and January 2012 alone.

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