The top Republican on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee said Tuesday that the GOP will pass legislation to block Iran’s access to the dollar-based transactions and the U.S. financial system, to fight back against the Obama administration’s apparent effort to ease financial sanctions against that country.
In a Tuesday morning hearing, Sen. Bob Corker, R-Tenn., repeatedly pressed Thomas Shannon, undersecretary of state for political affairs, to clarify the confusion over whether the Obama administration plans to help facilitate Iran’s access to the U.S. dollar, even if it doesn’t involve U.S. banks.
Several media reports over the last two weeks have said the administration plans to help facilitate dollar-dominated international business transactions in order to boost Iran’s economy. Because of all the administration’s caveats and confusing denials, Corker said he planned to try to codify that these “U-turn” transactions cannot occur.
Corker started the hearing by saying he was assured the administration would not go down that road in a telephone call with acting Treasury Secretary Adam Zsubin Monday. Then Tuesday morning, Secretary of State John Kerry made comments signaling that the U.S. was trying to help Iranians with international business transactions.
“So I felt very assured that we would not be involved in helping them outside the agreement, then Secretary Kerry indicated that we would,” Corker said. “What is going on?”
Shannon echoed earlier denials from President Obama and the Treasury Department and shot down the media reports, referring to them as “rumors and news.”
“The rumors and news that the U.S. is returning to the U-turn designation or allowing access to the [U.S.] financial sector is not true,” he said.
Shannon then tried to clarify Kerry’s point. As Iran attempts to access money that is available to it under the nuclear agreement, he said, “there will be instances in which we will have to help Iran access that money.”
“We will have to clarify the regulations,” he said. “… Banks are unclear about the nature of the regulatory structures and what sanctions will be lifted and what will not.”
“So the dollarizing issue is bogus?” Corker asked.
Shannon nodded yes, to which Corker responded that he is suspicious that there’s a “little bit of a wink and a nod going on” on what the agreement spells out, and whether the administration is telling certain businesses or foreign banks that they will not “go after you on this.”
“The point that secretary was making is we have commitments under the [nuclear agreement], and we need to live up to those commitments and the importance of ensuring that Iran has access to assets” that Iran needs to conduct these business transactions, Shannon said.
Still not convinced, Corker said he thinks that different elements of the administration are “not on the same page.”
“I think there are some people who are invested in this and have relationships and are trying to bend this,” he said.
