Watching and waiting for the best time to hurt Iran’s economy, the US is now planning to impose new sanctions against the Islamic Republic.
This Thursday, a top US official from the Biden administration traveled to Panama to ask the Central American country to ban Iranian ships that are under US sanctions from carrying Panamian flag. Arriving to Panama a day before on Wednesday, Abram Paley, the US Deputy Special Envoy for Iran, said during an official visit with Panama’s officials that “Iran and actors related to Iran are trying to evade sanctions here in Panama. They’re trying to abuse Panama’s flag registry.”
Asserting that six Iranian vessels under US sanctions have successfully flown the Panamanian flag and navigated in international waters since the start of this year, Paley said during a meeting with Laurentino Cortizo, the president of Panama, that his trip to the country is aimed “to ensure Panama’s shipping registry and jurisdiction is not abused by entities attempting to evade our sanctions on Iran.”
“We expect that the Panamanian government will continue to work with us based on their domestic laws and international obligations,” he said.
Panama a Central American country that is the largest ship registration hub in the world, maintains close relations with the US since the end of the Second World War. As of this February, more than 8,000 vessels sail under Panamian flag, which represents about 16 percent of the global fleet. The country is also the leading global provider of “flags of convenience.” The flag of convenience ship is one that flies the flag of a country other than the country of ownership for a variety of reasons, including evading and bypassing sanctions.
US demands G7 members to join sanction campaign against Tehran
In addition to pressuring panama to follow Washington’s demands over tightening sanctions against Iranian ships, the US also made a similar move this Friday, demanding G7 members to join the anti-Iran sanction campaign.
In a statement issued Friday evening, G7 members, which include Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom, and the United States, as well as the European Union, warned Iran that they are determined to pile new sanctions on Tehran “if it moves forward with an advancing plan to provide ballistic missiles to Russia for its war with Ukraine.”
“Were Iran to proceed with providing ballistic missiles or related technology to Russia, we are prepared to respond swiftly and in a coordinated manner including with new and significant measures against Iran,” the leaders of the G7 said in a statement, adding that “we’ve sent very clear messages to Iran not to do it, this is a subject of considerable conversation among a number of countries.”
What is US final plan for Iran?
Washington’s increasing efforts to impose new sanctions against Iran seems to be in line with a bigger plan the US has in mind for the Islamic Republic. In an op-ed published by the national Interest this Friday, Ahmed Charai, the head of the Foreign Policy Research Institute and a member of the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, said that the US plans to hit Iran where it hurts by imposing more sanctions at a time when it is going to have the severest impacts on Tehran.
“Iran’s biggest oil buyer is China. With its economy cooling, China is reducing its oil purchases. For Iran, those oil sales are essential to funding its public works projects, and Iranians are demanding more electricity and water. So, Iran’s slowing oil exports mean more unrest in Iran’s power-starved cities and larger budget deficits, which is a good opportunity for regime change in Tehran,” Charai noted.
