List of Iranian Entities to be Sanctions Obtained, Experts Say It’s a Modest List

ABC News' Kirit Radia reports: ABC News has obtained the list of Iranian individuals and entities to be sanctioned by the United Nations Security Council tomorrow. The lists, contained in a set of annexes agreed upon by council members today, is a measure of the strength of the new punitive measures set out in the resolution’s text, which sanctions Iran’s shipping lines, allows for the inspection of Iranian cargo, strengthens an arms embargo, toughens financial restrictions, and places a new emphasis on the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps. You can read the full resolution including the new annexes, which start on page 11, HERE. Speaking to reporters in Quito, Ecuador today, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton called the new measures “the most significant sanctions that Iran has ever faced.” “The amount of unity that has been engendered by the international community is very significant,” she said. Experts so far are cautious about the resolution’s ability to dramatically alter Iran’s calculus, given how Tehran has responded to sanctions in the past. “At first blush the list looks modest. I would note that there’s only one individual added to the list of individuals under existing sanctions,” said Jackie Shire, a nuclear expert at Institute for Science and International Security, who notes that previous resolutions each added about 10-15 individuals to the sanctions list. The lone individual named in the annex is Javad Rahiqi, the head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran who has only been in place since last summer. His predecessor had already been named in previous sanctions resolutions. It also names 22 entities tied to Iran’s nuclear or ballistic missile programs. Shire points out that the list includes Malek Ashtar University, which is alleged to have strong ties to Iran’s nuclear R&D program. The annexes also list 15 entities tied to Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps, which has increased its business and financial interests in recent years. Three entities tied to IRISL, the Iranian government’s official shipping lines, are also sanctioned. Still, the list of sanctions may provide some leads that even outside experts don’t know yet, according to Shire, who’s group ISIS closely tracks Iran’s nuclear program. “The entities named in the annexes also provide a way of peering inside the minds of those in governments who track closely what’s happening with Iran’s nuclear R&D and procurement.  We haven’t looked closely yet, but there may be some companies or groups identified here we are unfamiliar with, and with further work can develop a more complete picture of Iran’s work,” she said. The resolution is expected to pass when put to a vote tomorrow morning, despite opposition from non-veto members Lebanon, Brazil, and Turkey. Brazil and Turkey, which recently struck a nuclear fuel swap deal with Iran despite US and international opposition, have been determined to voice their displeasure that the Security Council is going ahead with sanctions despite their diplomatic efforts. The two countries have called meetings of the council over the past two days but have largely failed in efforts to make those meetings public. — Kirit Radia