Eli Lake: UN Sanctions Target Revolutionary Guard Corps

Eli Lake reports that the U.N. Security Council resolution which places sanctions on Iran targets the Revolutionary Guard Corps:

One official familiar with the U.N. sanctions draft said, "It is focused on the Revolutionary Guard Corps [IRGC]. It looks at the areas from shipping to banking to insurance that have been in discussions for years now."

Specifically the sanctions will expand the list of individuals and companies affiliated with the guard subject to asset freeze and travel ban, but there is no agreement yet on who will be on that list. The new proposal will also expand the number of items on the arms embargo against Iran to include war ships, attack helicopters and battle tanks.

The focus on the IRGC is a different tack that many in Congress support. Currently, legislation aimed at discouraging companies from selling refined petroleum to Iran is in a House-Senate conference. The draft U.N. sanctions do not, for example, target Iran's import of gasoline.

Those kinds of sanctions, because they target Iran's entire economy, are opposed by Iran's democratic opposition. The White House has asked congressional leaders to place an exemption in the bill for companies from "cooperating nations," a loophole that will likely include Chinese and Russian concerns.

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