Iran News Roundup: July 31, 2012
Obama Authorizes New Iran Sanctions President Obama authorized new sanctions against banks that facilitate the sale of petrochemical products by the National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC) and Naftiran Intertrade Company (NIC). Additionally, the President imposed sanctions on the Bank of Kunlun in China and Elaf Islamic Bank in Iraq for processing transactions for sanctioned Iranian […]
Congressional push for sanctions on food and medicine
It’s that time of year again–when Republicans and Democrats in Congress takes a break from wringing each other’s necks to pass a piece of legislation to “tighten the noose” around Iran just in time for campaign season. For those just checking in, here’s an example of what our current sanctions are already doing on the […]
Iran News Roundup: July 19, 2012
Confusion Surrounds Identity of Suicide Bomber in Bulgaria Swedish and Israeli officials are denying Bulgarian reports that the suicide bomber who carried out an attack on a bus full of Israeli tourists Thursday, killing five Israelis, was Swedish citizen connected to al Qaeda (The Atlantic 7/19). In an interview with MSNBC, Israeli Ambassador to the […]
Mujahedin-e Khalq (MEK) Factsheet
In a matter of weeks, a terrorist group known as the Mujahedin-e Khalq (MEK) may succeed in getting removed from the U.S. list of foreign terrorist organizations — not as a result of any change of heart — but as a result of an unprecedented and possibly illegal multi-million dollar media and lobbying blitz. Iranian […]
Divided House Committee Passes Iran Sanctions
A divided House Foreign Affairs Committee passed the Iran Refined Petroleum Sanctions Act (IRPSA) today by voice vote. The lead sponsor of the bill and Chairman of the committee, Howard Berman (D-CA), said his overriding concern is preventing Iran from “acquiring the capacity to acquire nuclear arms.” IRPSA would expand unilateral, extraterritorial sanctions and target […]