Two Republican Senators Attempt to Block Iran's Dollar Transactions

Two Republican senators in the U.S. Senate who oppose the Iran nuclear deal are working to introduce a bill to prevent the approval of President Barack Obama's plan to facilitate Iran's foreign transactions in dollars. According to the Associated Press, Senators Marco Rubio and Mark Kirk are set to propose a draft bill on Wednesday, April 6, which will prevent the implementation of the U.S. Treasury Department's plan to facilitate Iran's foreign transactions based on the dollar. A version of this draft has been provided to the Associated Press. According to this draft, the U.S. Treasury Department will be prohibited from issuing licenses for the use of dollars in foreign banks for transactions with the Iranian government or any Iranian individual, or for providing U.S. dollars to U.S. banks located abroad or foreign governments and financial institutions for transactions with Iran or any Iranian individual. U.S. government officials have repeatedly denied claims that the new Treasury Department plan aims to allow Iran access to the U.S. financial system. Government officials say that indirect use of dollars for Iran's foreign transactions may be accepted if U.S. banks or Iranian banks are not involved. The Associated Press reported last week that the U.S. Treasury Department is considering a plan that would allow foreign banks to use dollars for currency conversion in legal transactions with Iran. Under the agreement between Iran and the U.S. and five other world powers, in exchange for limiting Tehran's nuclear activities, a significant portion of foreign sanctions against Iran was lifted, and billions of dollars of the country's assets that were blocked in foreign banks were released. However, Iran claims that not all the promises made in this agreement have been fulfilled, as other U.S. sanctions imposed due to human rights violations, support for terrorism, or Iran's missile programs remain in effect. The Treasury Department and the White House have not yet made a final decision regarding the facilitation of dollar use in Iran's foreign transactions, and apparently, such a decision will be conditional on the implementation of specific regulations. This plan does not grant Iran access to the U.S. financial system, and Tehran will not have the right to transact directly in dollars. However, this change is vital for Iran's economy, which has been under pressure from sanctions for years. The Associated Press adds that many American lawmakers have expressed concern that the approval of such a plan would grant excessive concessions to the Iranian government and could pave the way for Iran's access to the U.S. financial system. Republicans and some Democratic representatives emphasize that the Obama administration committed last year, concurrent with the nuclear deal with Iran, to maintain the ban on Iran's use of dollars and other sanctions against the country that are not related to Iran's nuclear programs. Ed Royce, a Republican representative and chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, stated in an article published on Wednesday in the Washington Post that even allowing Iran to indirectly use dollars in foreign transactions is 'a concerning change in the policies of the Obama administration from a few months ago and will exacerbate the Iranian government's money laundering.' He added in another part of this article: 'Iran will be allowed to expand its money laundering operations using dollars, and the U.S. government will ignore it.'