Sunday, September 10, 2006

Iran: Cash Flow Jihad (Sanctions) Update

I covered some of this story in Iran Cash Flow Squeezed. There is now more news on the subject. The story points out that the banking restrictions are part of the sanctions against the Iranian regime.

WASHINGTON - According to a Saturday report by the Washington Post, the Bush administration has intensified efforts to 'choke off' the ability of Iranian banks to transfer funds to Hizbullah and Palestinian terror organizations, and subsequently, to hamper these organizations' ability to acquire weapons technology.

The US, in the past, has succeeded in barring al-Qaeda access to funds by cutting off suspect banks and firms from the international banking system. It recently began to take the same steps with regards to Iran and the initiative has gathered steam in recent weeks, even as US-led efforts to facilitate UN sanctions against Iran for its nuclear activities have slowed.
So American sanctions are in whether the UN acts or not. The banking sanctions, as I note in Squeezing Hamas' Cash Flow, are already having a severe effect on Hamas.

Evidently the American initiative is becoming popular with other nations.
The US initiative is blazing a trail that is apparently being followed by international banks, as was strikingly illustrated in the behavior of banks in Switzerland. Earlier this year the Swiss bank UBS ended its dealings with Iran, while two other banks, HSBC and Credit Suisse, sharply curtailed their business.

Stuart Levey, the Treasury undersecretary for terrorism and financial intelligence, intends to go to Europe next week to enlist support from governments and financial institutions for severing Iran from the international financial system. Other Treasury and State Department officials are traveling across Asia and the Middle East on similar missions.

Levey called the move "a sign of the costs that Iran's leaders will impose on the Iranian people if the leadership chooses to remain on its current path of defiance…The regime will end up isolating Iran from the world community, with reputable financial institutions becoming increasingly unwilling to handle Iran's business," he continued.
Sieges (sanctions, blockades) are slow moving affairs. The bigger the economic unit they are applied to the longer the effort is required to take effect. However, the effect, once felt, becomes more and more severe as resources go unreplaced.

The Iranian people, already pinched by their government's bad economic policy (socialism), are complaining about how their government is spending its money.

Economic riots are always harder to put down than those that are merely political. Hungry people have less to lose.

It also looks like Hizballah has just lost a chunk of change.
On Thursday, the treasury department separately targeted two Lebanon-based financial institutions that officials said acted as Hizbullah's unofficial treasury, helping secure loans and finance business deals for the organization, among other things.

One of these, the Beit al-Mal bank, headed by Hussein al-Shami, had its assets frozen. US sources said that al-Shami acts under the supervision of Hizbullah leader Hassan Nasrallah.
I covered some of Hizballah's cash flow problems in Hizballah Joins the Cash Flow Jihad. It looks like those problems are getting worse.

Any one who says America doesn't have a strategy on Iran is nuts. Their problem is that they look for something big and showy like explosions. What is going on is big and quiet and thus escapes much notice.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

FROM CAROL HERMAN

Gazoo has far more problems than Lebanon, because what "economy" do the arabs in Gazoo actually have?

They didn't turn around and make the Jewish areas into accommodations for travelers.

Think about it. People in the North of Israel, when the thousands of missiles began peppering their environment, headed SOUTH. Never came to Gazoo.

People in Eygpt, for instance, those living in Cairo ... what with all those tunnels, you'd think the engineering step to buidling subways would be an easy detour. Well? You think the Eygptians want to see beach front property in Gazoo? Well, I think not.

So "how" you drive an economy always comes into question.

Nasrallah? He's still living in a bunker hole.

All the idiots have are three soldiers. And, now a lot of hands are fishing around this pot; for reasons of their own. With the price GOING UP. Which is one of the reasons for the delay in getting the soldiers back.

The other reason? Maybe, there are pressures being put on Olmert? Just like the banking type pressures in Lebanon (where real money is coming on line just the same. Given that the Saudis want to buy property. And, there's money, now, to rebuild bridges ... if only these bridges get tagged with the donor's name. Be funny if someone calls one of them "The Brooklyn Bridge," and sticks private toll booths around these suckers.)

Everything in Lebanon sees a "middle-man." It's a culture that for arabs is quite depraved. And, sloshes around a party mentality. Where lots of contraband gets sold. It's the party hardy place, as places there, go. And, the night life is kicking up again.

Not mentioned, of course, were the well-done phony Benjamin's. That came floating out. Since this ends up in BANKS. I'm not surprised some banks CLOSED their cashier's window. It stops those deposits of nearly perfect counterfeits. When the Feds blow heavy on ya. And, turn down some of the fakes ... being circulated around.

For what it's worth, the war is over. Nasrallah's real threat, was that it COULD unloose the missiles. Now that they flew? Not much accuracy to them.

And, if you know about Iran's production problems, you'd see that between Iran, China and Russia, the middle-managers really aren't running the shop floors all that well. Product can get through, and get sold, without passing inspection.

Just one example? That C-802 (or whatever it's number?) The 20 foot long missile, with it's big payload, that hit the Israeli ship? But the Ship didn't go down. You know why? The fire on board was caused by the unspent fuel. NOT THE PAYLOAD. The payload didn't explode. (It did on the Eygptian ship, that took a hit. And, went all the way down.)

By the way, the lesson to learn is that Israel is NOT in the business of taking over Lebanese territory. So, for the most part, they're toodling away from the Lebanese coast.

WHAT THIS MEANS IS THAT ISRAEL WANTS NO PART OF THE DIPLOMATIC-PANTS-DANCERS; where there are debates, that go on for years and years, bringing BAD PUBLICITY. So that's why there's this new thing.

Hit and run. Don't stay. Keep to the clearly demarcated boarders. And, deny the UN a piece of the GOLD.

#1701? Killed Condi's career. And, it's ALL for the Lebanese. Aren't they lucky? THose Blue Hatted schmucks are not on the Israeli side at all.

As to nasrallah, he's 46 years old now. And, he lives in a hole.

The rubble of those villages has put a lot of the Shi'a who used to live in Southern Lebanon, into syria. Ain't gonna come back.

What I suspect? The UN will use the rubble of Southern Lebanon as training ground. Safer than Darfur! And, close enough to Beirut that the french and italians will be very happy with the booze, the clubs, and the whores.

Olmert is a heck of a lot smarter than most people think. Or he got lucky by taking his options off a butterfly ballot. Either way. He is ahead.

There are no cheap wars.

And, politics in Israel ALWAYS looks like a circus in the Knesset. It might sound new; but it's not. And, most of those ministers want to keep their portfolios. While those without their favorite portfolios, are pissing mad. Bibi. And, Mofaz, are two.

Can Iran, meanwhile, from such a distance, do much to retain Lebanon as their "proxy?" She ain't virginal no more, ya know?

Economies, after wars, usually blossom. Which really spells doom and gloom for Gazoo. Heck, with the french now all tied up in syria, and it's proxy, Lebanon;

While the Shi'a are losing political capital across a broad swath of land; ya have to wonder? Wars aren't cheap. But just standing around isn't very effective. So, exactly what's gonna pop up next?

Americans, meanwhile, are getting the hang of hanging in their LONG TERM. While nasrallah's best shot is to continuing staying underground.