NCRI Staff
NCRI – With US Treasury slapping new sanctions on the IRGC, a major blow was dealt to Iranian regime’s backbone; a blow that was accompanied by uncertainty over future and loss of forces within the regime.
“Slapping sanctions on IRGC is not something new. Mr. Trump needs to know that Iranian people don’t like the Revolutionary Guards for their economic activities, but they demand IRGC to maintain Iran’s security and independence”, says Hassan Rouhani’s advisor ‘Hesameddin Ashena’ in an attempt to counter the psychological effects of the new sanctions.
“IRGC is not an economic entity so they can affect it through economic sanction, but it’s a military entity which neither negotiates nor backs down on fulfilling its duties.” (State-run Donya-e-Eghtesad newspaper, October 14, 2017)
Meanwhile, head of regime parliament’s Planning and Budget Committee ‘Gholamreza Tajgardoon’ says “sanctions against the IRGC won’t affect the country’s economy, so they (Americans) won’t be able to hurt Iran’s economy through imposing sanctions on the IRGC.”
“US sanctions target international relations while the IRGC has no global economic relations”, said Tajgardoon, adding “Rather, it’s involved in political and particularly military issues, aiming at maintaining domestic and regional security.” (State-run Khane-Mellat website, October 15, 2017)
Just two days after these remarks, however, Khamenei linked Vatan-e-Emrouz newspaper released its October-18 issue with a large headline titled ‘Black Hole’, revealing the “unprecedented economic consequences and costs the ‘Mother of Sanctions’ will impose on the regime.”
Acknowledging the enforcement of the ‘Mother of Sanctions’, the newspaper then reveals its crippling effects, writing “although this part of ‘Mother of Sanctions’ is aimed at giving rise to numerous security issues in Iran and the region, but with regard to economy, it’s going to cripple, or as US senators put it, shut down and turn off Iran’s economy.”
According to CAATSA, first the IRGC and all its offices, affiliated entities, as well as its partners will be added to the Specially Designated Nationals ‘SDN’ list. Then people and entities that have any kind of cooperation with the IRGC will according to executive order 13224 be also included in the SDN list. According to the executive order, the dimensions of the new sanctions could unimaginably grow.
For instance, more than five thousand private companies are working with Khatam al-Anbia Construction Headquarters that according to Trump’s new executive order are threatened to be added to the SDN list. Or if the Central Bank or Melli Bank offers services to these companies and the US Department of State finds out about the cooperation, then those banks will also be added by the US Treasury to the SDN list. This huge economic challenge is contrary to nuclear deal’s sections 26, 28, 29, and 30, according to which Iran should benefit from lifting of sanctions against the Central Bank and its affiliated entities.
That’s why the new act is called ‘the black-hole of sanctions’.
But which side is right?
On one hand they say “the IRGC is not an economic entity so it won’t be affected by sanctions”, and that “slapping sanctions on the IRGC won’t affect the country’s economy.”
On the other hand they say “imposing sanctions on the IRGC cripples and shuts down regime’s economy.”
To find out which side is telling the truth, let’s once again refer to the same state-run newspaper: “new US sanctions against Iran are the most unprecedented sanctions regime ever imposed on a country; sanctions that not only have targeted regime’s economic areas, but also seek to hurt its security capabilities as well. The economic consequences of imposing sanctions on the IRGC will have immeasurably huge dimensions.”
Could the bleak outlook of the Iranian regime under the ‘Black-Hole’ and ‘Mother’ of sanctions be more clearly acknowledged?
