New Iran Sanctions Could Bring Unintended Blowback http://www.rightweb.irc-online.org/articles/display/new_iran_sanctions_could_bring_unintended_blowback?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+RightWebLatest+%28RightWeb+Latest+Profiles+%26+News%29&utm_content=FeedBurner#When:13:01:53Z

A new Congressional push to sanction Iran's Central Bank is aimed at reducing Iranian oil revenues, but could backfire and hurt the global economy.On August 9, the Wall Street Journal disclosed a letter to the White House signed by 92 senators urging the Barack Obama administration to place new restrictions on dealings with the bank as part of a strategy to "cripple" Iran."You want to move the market so that you have a smaller number of buyers" of Iranian oil, added Mark Dubowitz, director of the Iran Energy Project at the Foundation for Defence of Democracies, a Washington think tank that provides research for Congressional staffers crafting sanctions strategy against Iran. "You want to remove the 'white-hatted' [reputable Western] buyers and ruthlessly drive the price down" that Iran receives from remaining buyers, he said.

The Senate letter, whose other main sponsor was Democratic Senator Chuck Schumer, got a big endorsement from the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), the influential Jewish lobby group that has made stopping Iran's nuclear programme a major priority.Harris told IPS Iran needs a steady infusion of dollars or euros to prop up its sagging currency, the rial, and to continue to give cash payments to Iranians to compensate them for ending subsidies on consumer staples. The current Iranian budget, he noted, is based on Iran getting at least 85 dollars a barrel for its oil."If they're selling oil much lower than that, that will cause a crisis," Harris said.

He warned that new sanctions could backfire if a desperate Iran decides to punish the world by suddenly withdrawing its oil from the market."You have to be careful what you wish for," Harris said. "You are really playing a dangerous game."

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