Another New York Times Op-Ed Concerning Iran

Today there is yet another New York Times op-ed concerning Iran, "Buying American in Tehran", this time written by Jerry Guo (I don't know who he is), which repudiates the need for sanctions. My response:

This op-ed, written by someone who "was an analyst for a hedge fund in Tehran this summer", claims that proposed economic sanctions against Iran would be ineffective (there are ways to get around sanctions, e.g., "hawala"), counterproductive (the poor are harmed while the Revolutionary Guard benefits) and unnecessary (YouTube has already isolated the government).

Having worked with financial institutions throughout the world, I am confident that sanctions will prove effective, provided they are enforced. If the United States was to annul the banking license of any financial institution involved, directly or indirectly, in the transfer of goods or funds to Iran, no bank would take the chance of running afoul of such a mandate, i.e. the Iranian centrifuges would cease to spin.

Hawala? Sure, the system is used throughout the Middle East, but cannot handle very large sums, and ultimately there must be a nexus with the traditional banking system.

The author of this op-ed would have us believe that foreign investment firms "pour money into companies that make medicine and build roads and housing, providing jobs for the millions of young Iranians who graduate each year with limited job prospects." Let's locate these "foreign investment firms" and ask that they "pour money" into the U.S. economy, providing jobs for millions of unemployed Americans.

"Tougher sanctions would . . . help the [Revolutionary] Guards’ many businesses, which include smuggling goods through secret landing spots on the coast." Oh, yes, the "secret landing spots". Are these "secret landing spots" capable of offloading goods from supertankers, or are we talking about cartons of cigarettes and bottles of scotch?

"In any case, at this point sanctions may not be needed." With Iran only a year away from an atomic bomb, the avowal of a summer hedge fund analyst that YouTube has isolated the Iranian government is most reassuring.

This almost makes me miss Roger Cohen . . .