NCRI – The US Treasury’s under secretary for terrorism and financial intelligence has said that international sanctions against the Iranian regime have put pressure on its oil and gas sector.
According to Reuters on Thursday, Stuart Levey said, “The lack of investment in Iran’s energy infrastructure is a direct threat to their medium and long-term economic viability.”
There is evidence to show that production is falling in Iranian oil fields, he added.
He said President Barack Obama’s signing of a legislation in July imposing sanctions on any company investing in Iran’s oil infrastructure “is a very significant step toward targeting their energy industry.”
Reuters added, “In the eyes of U.S. officials, one of the more promising recent developments was India’s refusal to continue a practice of making payments for Iranian oil through a long-standing clearinghouse system run by regional central banks.”
Mr. Levey, according to the news agency, “insists that growing wariness about dealing with Iran generally together with the impact of sanctions that limit participation in Iranian energy projects is taking a toll.”
The news agency also said, Joshua Muravchik, a fellow at the Foreign Policy Institute of Johns Hopkins University’s School of Advanced International Studies, “doubted that economic pressure alone can force the political shift that could lead Tehran to end its drive for nuclear weapons.” He suggested a change of the regime would be required.
