Bush Seeks 'Follow the Money' Strategy on Iran
Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs Nicholas Burns, in an interview earlier this year, said the U.S. thinking on Iran is: "You need to do more to make an impact on them." The administration has also told some companies that large energy investments in Iran risk being targeted by unilateral U.S. sanctions--a prospect that has angered some European executives and government officials. But some lawmakers on Capitol Hill are pressing the administration to do just that.
Treasury and State Department officials have also reportedly urged some European firms to hold off on investing in Iran's gas and oil sector. Iran's production capacity in oil has fallen as foreign companies have, over the years, showed reluctance to do business there. Iran's state-dominated economy is also thought to be vulnerable by dint of huge economic subsidies for some staples and for gasoline--one fourth of its overall national output. Efforts to raise gasoline prices and introduce gasoline rationing are hugely unpopular, and Tehran has had trouble paying public sector workers, including teachers. Despite large revenues from oil exports, "the Iranian government is very tight on money," says one proponent of economic pressure, Patrick Clawson, a Middle East analyst at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy.
The movement is not all of Washington's making. In the United States, Missouri has moved to divest from companies doing business in Iran. New Jersey, Florida, and California are looking at similar measures. Some in the administration are hoping the campaign will take off.
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