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NCRI Staff<\/p>\n
NCRI –\u00a0With US Treasury slapping new sanctions on the IRGC, a major blow was dealt to Iranian regime\u2019s backbone; a blow that was accompanied by uncertainty over future and loss of forces within the regime.<\/p>\n
\u201cSlapping sanctions on IRGC is not something new. Mr. Trump needs to know that Iranian people don\u2019t like the Revolutionary Guards for their economic activities, but they demand IRGC to maintain Iran\u2019s security and independence\u201d, says Hassan Rouhani\u2019s advisor \u2018Hesameddin Ashena\u2019 in an attempt to counter the psychological effects of the new sanctions.<\/p>\n
\u201cIRGC is not an economic entity so they can affect it through economic sanction, but it\u2019s a military entity which neither negotiates nor backs down on fulfilling its duties.\u201d (State-run Donya-e-Eghtesad newspaper, October 14, 2017)<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, head of regime parliament\u2019s Planning and Budget Committee \u2018Gholamreza Tajgardoon\u2019 says \u201csanctions against the IRGC won\u2019t affect the country\u2019s economy, so they (Americans) won\u2019t be able to hurt Iran\u2019s economy through imposing sanctions on the IRGC.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cUS sanctions target international relations while the IRGC has no global economic relations\u201d, said Tajgardoon, adding \u201cRather, it\u2019s involved in political and particularly military issues, aiming at maintaining domestic and regional security.\u201d (State-run Khane-Mellat website, October 15, 2017)<\/p>\n
Just two days after these remarks, however, Khamenei linked Vatan-e-Emrouz newspaper released its October-18 issue with a large headline titled \u2018Black Hole\u2019, revealing the \u201cunprecedented economic consequences and costs the \u2018Mother of Sanctions\u2019 will impose on the regime.\u201d<\/p>\n
Acknowledging the enforcement of the \u2018Mother of Sanctions\u2019, the newspaper then reveals its crippling effects, writing \u201calthough this part of \u2018Mother of Sanctions\u2019 is aimed at giving rise to numerous security issues in Iran and the region, but with regard to economy, it\u2019s going to cripple, or as US senators put it, shut down and turn off Iran\u2019s economy.\u201d<\/p>\n
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 \u2018SDN\u2019 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.<\/p>\n
For instance, more than five thousand private companies are working with Khatam al-Anbia Construction Headquarters that according to Trump\u2019s 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\u2019s sections 26, 28, 29, and 30, according to which Iran should benefit from lifting of sanctions against the Central Bank and its affiliated entities.<\/p>\n
That\u2019s why the new act is called \u2018the black-hole of sanctions\u2019.<\/p>\n
But which side is right?<\/p>\n
On one hand they say \u201cthe IRGC is not an economic entity so it won\u2019t be affected by sanctions\u201d, and that \u201cslapping sanctions on the IRGC won\u2019t affect the country\u2019s economy.\u201d<\/p>\n
On the other hand they say \u201cimposing sanctions on the IRGC cripples and shuts down regime\u2019s economy.\u201d<\/p>\n
To find out which side is telling the truth, let\u2019s once again refer to the same state-run newspaper: \u201cnew US sanctions against Iran are the most unprecedented sanctions regime ever imposed on a country; sanctions that not only have targeted regime\u2019s 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.\u201d<\/p>\n
Could the bleak outlook of the Iranian regime under the \u2018Black-Hole\u2019 and \u2018Mother\u2019 of sanctions be more clearly acknowledged?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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 […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":50019,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[19],"tags":[178],"class_list":{"0":"post-23732","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-terrorism-a-fundamentalism","8":"tag-save"},"yoast_head":"\n