GAO finds U.S. goal for Iranian sanctions “unclear”
A congressional watchdog agency said despite U.S. government proclamations of success with sanctions against Iran, such as slowing the Middle East country’s investment in petroleum production and hampering weapons financing and smuggling operations, “other evidence raises questions about the extent of reported impacts.”In a report released this week to a House Oversight and Government Reform subcommittee, the Government Accountability Office noted that since 2003 the Iranian government has signed contracts valued at $20 billion with foreign firms to develop its energy sector. The report also pointed out that Iranian banks may easily fund their activities through currencies other than U.S. dollars, and Iran continues to pursue its nuclear weapons program.
“Iran’s global trade ties and leading role in energy production make it difficult for the United States to isolate Iran and pressure it to reduce proliferation and support for terrorism,” the GAO report said.
The United States has implemented numerous sanctions against Iran since 1987. The Treasury Department, for example, oversees a ban on U.S. trade and investment with Iran and filed over 94 civil penalty cases from 2003 to 2007 against companies violating the prohibitions. Most violations involve circumventing U.S. laws by shipping goods to Iran through third countries.
The State Department administers laws that sanction foreign parties engaged in proliferation or terrorism-related activities with Iran. The department has imposed 111 sanctions against Chinese, North Korean, Syrian and Russian entities.
Both State and Treasury departments have the authority to freeze assets of targeted parties and reduce their access to U.S. financing.
The GAO report recommended that Congress, through the National Security Council, require U.S. agencies involved with imposing sanctions on trade with Iran to “systematically” collect and analyze information to better demonstrate the overall impact and results of their sanctions and enforcement actions.
