After the deal on Iran’s nuclear issue, Washington announced the phasing out of economic sanctions against Tehran. Banks of Iran was allowed again to connect to the communication system SWIFT supports the international settlement and payment operations. They were lifting the ban on the export of Iranian oil. Finally Washington decided to unfreeze the financial assets of Iran that are hosted abroad (seizure of assets were imposed in 2012). The volume and structure of these assets did not really know anybody. Some officials in Iran called a total amount of 130 billion. The Institute of international Finance in Washington, led the evaluation of $ 100 billion.
A significant portion of these financial assets are foreign currency reserves of the Central Bank and the national development Fund of Iran. In January 2015 the US Secretary of state John Kerry said that Iran would receive from the frozen assets of $ 55 billion. The Central Bank of Iran, however, operates on different numbers. As reported by the Director General of the Central Bank waliullah safe, we are talking about USD 32.6 billion. In any case, the amount is very impressive.
Iran waiting for back in 2000-e years, possible seizure of its foreign financial assets, organized their movement to safer areas. So, from the point of view of Iranian experts, was the banks outside the jurisdiction of the United States and Western Europe. Tools Iran had been withdrawn from Western banks to the banks of China, Japan, South Korea, Turkey and Taiwan. However, Iranian experts miscalculated. Washington managed to reach the Iranian money and where that is necessary to keep in mind also Russia, against which the West can still use weapons such as the freezing of its foreign exchange reserves.
The confiscation of foreign currency reserves of Iran
In April, however, the joy of Tehran about the “defrosting” of foreign exchange reserves was overshadowed. The U.S. Supreme court rejected the Central Bank of Iran to return $ 2 billion of frozen Iranian assets, and the court decided to send the money to the families of the Americans killed in the attacks, responsibility for which ostensibly carries Iran. We are talking about a terrorist attack in Beirut in 1983 that killed 241 American soldiers. The U.S. court found “Iranian footprint” in the event that took place 33 years ago. This version is far-fetched, she refuted many times, not only Iran, but also Western experts (in 2001 Caspar Weinberger, the former in the period of the tragedy of the Lebanese Minister of defense, admitted: reliable information about the organizers of the attack in Beirut was not there).
Appetite comes while eating. And U.S. authorities, seized two billion dollars of Iran’s reserves, has produced another solution. The U.S. Supreme court found “the Iranian trace” in the events of September 11, 2001, and ordered Tehran to pay compensation to the relatives of the victims of American citizens in the amount of 7.5 billion. (at the rate of $ 2 million. one of the deceased). Plus 3 billion. compensation the insurance companies which in the early 2000-ies covered the damages from a terrorist act. No serious evidence confirming the involvement of Iranian authorities in the preparation and implementation of a terrorist act there. Tehran to implement the decision of the American court is not going to, and therefore, the U.S. government prepared a decision on another forfeiture of currency reserves in the amount of $ 10.5 billion.
Second target – Saudi Arabia
Probably Iran is just the first step. On Iran, uncle Sam is training. However, uncle Sam prefers to call it not a forfeiture, and reparations. They say, we are talking about compensation of the damage suffered by America and its citizens in all sorts of military and terrorist actions. Next victim of confiscation-reparation is Saudi Arabia.
In the U.S. Congress currently has drafted a bill against the Justice of victims of terrorism”, which allows the relatives of the victims of the attacks of September 11, 2001, to file a lawsuit against those States involved in this terrorist act. Although the document had no state mentioned, everyone understands that the bill has a particular destination in Saudi Arabia. International reserves of Saudi Arabia in 2014 came close to 750 billion dollars. After the fall of oil prices, they melted away, but today they are nearly $ 600 billion. Tidbit for uncle Sam!
Relations between Washington and Riyadh today is complicated, and the scenario of confiscation-reparation is real. In Riyadh have said that they can “withdraw” from the United States to its foreign reserves, amounting to hundreds of billions of dollars. However, this raises at least two questions. First, recall we had previously, when relations between States were still cloudless. Now Washington might block the mass recall of reserves and assets. Second, even if Riyadh had withdrawn its reserves and assets of the US, there is the issue of their safe placement. The sad experience of Iran shows that the arm of uncle Sam reaches out to banks not only in Europe but also Japan and South Korea, China and Hong Kong, Turkey and Taiwan.
As for China’s banks, viewing them as safe havens Saudi assets, not least because the U.S. Congress has begun to discuss the possibility of imposing economic sanctions against China. Beijing time to think about such a scenario, the possible freezing of its huge foreign exchange reserves. China’s position is very vulnerable because of its international reserves – the largest in the world: may 1, 2016, they amounted to 3.2 trillion. $ . While in US treasuries located more than 1.24 trillion. $ . (plus the placement of foreign exchange reserves on the deposits of US banks). To reduce their vulnerability China is increasing the share of gold in reserves, this metal is immune to all sorts of sanctions, but to replace their foreign exchange reserves into gold as fast as China and Russia, Saudi Arabia was not – she in contrast to these two countries is not a country of gold, and to buy large quantities of gold on the world market is problematic (demand greatly exceeds offer).
Tehran qualifies Washington’s actions as “outright theft”
At the end of April this year, Iran’s foreign Ministry said Washington protest the confiscation of $ 2 billion in Iranian foreign exchange reserves. Media of Iran called Washington’s actions “outright theft”. Defensively Tehran has decided to go on the offensive. In may the Iranian Majlis approved a bill calling on the government to file a lawsuit against the United States and to demand compensation for the damage caused to Iran by the actions of the United States since 1953. History of subversive activities against Iran begins with such events as the overthrow of the legitimate government 19 August 1953, organized by the special services of the USA and the UK. Next on the list – the eight year war between Iran and Iraq (1980-1988), inspired by Washington. The Majlis demanded the payment of compensation to families for the deaths of 223 thousand Iranians, as well as 600 thousands of veterans of the war with Iraq and asked the government to assess the amount of the relevant claim. A special place in the statement of claim to the United States is a repair requirement for damage caused by economic sanctions that Washington imposed in 1979, which operated for 37 years.
About the monetary evaluation of American civilization
A small epilogue to our story. In may of this year, the US President toured a number of Asian countries. In some of them the Americans committed crimes against humanity, causing the peoples of these countries enormous material and moral damage. We are talking, primarily, about Japan. The nuclear bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in August 1945, completely fit the modern definition of “terrorist act”. Then the American nuclear bomb, according to experts, claimed the lives of 300 thousand people. Plus, the genetic consequences of the nuclear bombing. Washington did not apologize for these acts of vandalism, and the Japanese side did not put the issue of compensation for damages. Suppose that the compensation for the life of every dead Japanese will be equal to the compensation that calculated by the Americans in case of terrorist attack in Lebanon in 1983 (us $ 2 million. per person). In this case, the reparations demands Japan to America should reach $ 600 billion. And that’s not counting those of genetic damages, which are now captured by the fourth generation of the Japanese, not counting the material damage from destruction of buildings and structures in the area of nuclear explosions.
Called for Barack Obama and Vietnam. In Hanoi also remained silent, not presenting the American President’s reparation claims associated with the aggression of the USA in the 60-70-ies of the twentieth century. But there is only the use of toxic substances originated diseases and genetic abnormalities is at least five million Vietnamese. By the way, these chemicals suffered and the U.S. military, but they eventually managed to get some compensation from their government. Based on the compensation values of the American military, to cover damages to the people of Vietnam would amount hundreds of billions of dollars.
It is hoped that Iran will create their reparation demands to US the necessary precedent that will benefit in the next Japan, Vietnam and other countries where America imposed their democracy.
