Iran's Euro Front Companies Sanctioned

US Acts Against ‘Front Companies’ Linked to Iran

VoA News: The United States has imposed sanctions on 37 companies in Europe and five Iranian citizens suspected of being used by Iran’s shipping company to conduct business.

The U.S. Treasury Department said Wednesday that “front companies” based in Germany, Malta and Cyprus were facilitating Iran’s use of its national maritime carrier to advance an illicit program for developing weapons of mass destruction and for transporting military cargo.

Meanwhile, the State Department says the U.S. is ready to join a new round of nuclear confidence-building talks with Iran in mid-November, and that Tehran has given “indications” it will take part.

The talks, tentatively set for November 16 and 17 in Vienna, would bring together diplomats from Iran and six major world powers. They would examine prospects for reviving a proposal offered a year ago, under which Iran would ship much of its enriched uranium stockpile abroad in return for fuel for a Tehran research reactor.

Iran initially accepted the proposal last November by the five permanent U.N. Security Council member countries and Germany but later backed away from the initiative. In May of this year, Iran said it was ready to accept a variant of the swap plan proposed by Turkey and Brazil.

A State Department spokesman, P.J. Crowley, said Wednesday the proposal would have to be updated, reflecting ongoing enrichment activity by Iran that has taken place over the ensuing year.

The New York Times reported Thursday the new proposal would increase the amount of low-enriched uranium Iran sends abroad to more than 2,000 kilograms. Iran would also have to participate in negotiations on the future of its nuclear program.

Crowley said the expansion of U.N. and national sanctions is “getting Iran’s attention,” but that it remains to be seen whether they convince Tehran to act in what he called “its own long-term interest” and return to nuclear negotiations.

U.S. trade sanctions on Iran prohibit any U.S. person from conducting transactions with designated entities. The designation also authorizes the freezing of assets the designee holds under U.S. jurisdiction.

The United Nations, United States, and European Union have all imposed sanctions on Iran in an effort to persuade Tehran to stop enriching uranium.

Iran says its nuclear program is peaceful. But Crowley said revelations of secret Iranian nuclear sites near the city of Qom and elsewhere raise doubts about Tehran’s intentions.