Senior Democrat Urges Sanctions on Iran's Central Bank

The Obama administration should put sanctions on Iran's central bank in response to allegations that Tehran was behind an alleged plot to assassinate the Saudi ambassador to Washington, a senior Democratic lawmaker said.

Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman Dianne Feinstein (D., Calif.) said the case that Iran's Qods Force was behind the plot was "dead bang" and that if the U.S. wanted to avoid a collision course with Iran, it should tighten sanctions now. The Qods Force is an elite special-operations unit of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard.

Speaking on "Fox News Sunday," Ms. Feinstein said there was clear evidence that senior figures within the Qods Force, including Kassim Suleimani, were involved in the attempt, although she said there was no evidence that the scheme extended to Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the supreme leader of the regime. Mr. Suleimani is believed to ba senior commanders within the Qods Force, as well as an adviser to Mr. Khamenei.

"I don't think the sanctions have been as complete as they should be," Ms. Feinstein said. "I wish they had sanctioned the central bank of Iran because that affects oil and that would make a big difference."

Ms. Feinstein was one of more than 90 senators who urged the administration in August to apply sanctions against Iran's Bank Markazi, the central bank, a move that would potentially freeze out Iran from the global financial system and make it difficult for the country to clear billions of dollars of oil sales every month.

Sen. John McCain (R., Ariz.), senior Republican on the House Armed Services Committee, launched a broad critique of the Obama administration's policy toward Iran, saying he should have offered stronger support for the anti-regime demonstrators of early 2009.

"His policy of engagement with Iran has clearly been a failure," said Mr. McCain on CNN's "State of the Union."

He said President Barack Obama should seek "severe" sanctions against Iran in the wake of this week's action, and that "covert activities of some kind should be considered."

Ms. Feinstein said she didn't support any military actions at this stage, noting it could quickly escalate to a full-blown war against Iran.

"The question is, do we want to go to war against Iran at this time? My judgment is no. We have our hands full," she said.

Rep. Mike Rogers (R., Mich.), chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, told ABC's "This Week" that military action shouldn't be taken off the table.

GOP presidential candidate Newt Gingrich also called for more aggressive actions to undermine and topple the Iranian regime.

"We have done nothing of consequence to systematically undermine this regime," said Mr. Gingrich, also speaking on CNN. "We will never ever be safe if the Iranian and North Korean dictatorships survive."

Manssor Arbabsiar, an Iranian-born, naturalized-American was arrested two week ago and subsequently charged in connection with an alleged plot to kill Adel al-Jubeir, the Saudi envoy to the U.S. Mr. Arbabsiar would be plead not guilty if indicted, his lawyer said.

Gholam Shakuri, a deputy in the Qods Force, was also charged in connection with the alleged plot. He is believed to be in Iran.

In the wake of the arrests, U.S. officials have said they are considering pushing for tightening sanctions against Iran, including against the central bank. Such a move has been opposed by China and Russia in the past.

Congress passed a law last year blocking access to the U.S. financial system to any foreign firm that does business with Iranian banks, the country's energy sector or any of the companies owned by the Revolutionary Guards. That law includes a provision allowing the administration to apply sanctions against Iran's central bank.

Source: WSJ