Mccains view...
Speaking to a gathering hosted by the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, the main U.S. pro-Israeli lobbying group, McCain vowed to seek new economic penalties against the mullahs. He favors sanctioning the Central Bank of Iran, freezing the assets of regime leaders and imposing a visa ban on them, and restricting Iran’s ability to import gasoline. He also said: “We should privatize the sanctions against Iran by launching a worldwide divestment campaign” — much like the campaign against South Africa in the 1980s, in protest of its apartheid government.
These measures would likely have different degrees of efficacy. The U.S. has long imposed unilateral economic sanctions against Iran, banks included. The EU, for its part, has been more willing to deal with Iran, which in turn has done much to keep the regime afloat. But in recent days the EU has hinted at its readiness to freeze the assets and funds of Iran’s state-owned Bank Melli. It’s unlikely that Europe would be equally willing to punish Iran’s central bank, but, even if it is not, the U.S. has additional arrows in its quiver.
It could, for instance, invoke Section 311 of the Patriot Act — which would allow the Treasury Department to effectively freeze Iran out of the international financial system. This is the same provision that the U.S. invoked against a Macanese bank accused of laundering money for Kim Jong Il. The consequence: Banks all over the world suddenly refused to have dealings with Kim’s regime, even through a proxy, for fear that sanctions would be expanded to cover them. Section 311 has been invoked seven times since the Patriot Act’s passage, but never against an Iranian entity. McCain should make a point of asking why.
