US Urged to Rethink Iranian Sanctions
LONDON, Feb 14 (energy24.com) - An international conference on the Middle East has heard that the start of a new presidency in the US could be the catalyst for normalising relations between Washington and Tehran.
A US international law specialist, Beverly Rudy, told the Development of Middle East Energy conference in London that there were some positive signals that the unilateral sanctions maybe eased, while extraterritorial legislation, ILSA, aimed against foreign firms investing in Iran's oil development, was not expected to be renewed.
The ILSA is due to expire from the statute book in August this year, yet it has done little to prevent the estimated $10 billion in contracts signed since 1997.
Rudy said the time was now ripe for President Bush to send clear messages that the US was serious about improved economic relations. Initially, US firms should be allowed to prepare for the end of the sanctions by being free to discuss upcoming contracts with the Iranians.
Rudy suggested that secondly, the White House could reverse the former Administration's policy and permit licences for American companies to engage in swap deals with Iran for the export of Caspian oil.
Geoffrey Kemp, director of regional strategic programs at the Nixon Center in Washington said there were many in the Bush Administration, particularly Vice-President Cheney, who are opposed to the continuation of the Iranian sanctions.
He suggested that US support for the Baku-Ceyhan pipeline, aimed at excluding Iranian and Russian routes for Caspian oil, had been counterproductive.
‘Continuing this two-pronged exclusionary effort is likely to drive Moscow and Tehran into even closer cooperation,’ Kemp said, adding that it had also weakened states in the region that could benefit from other routes. |
