July 29, 2010 | Congressional Testimony

FDD Executive Director Testifies before House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform on “Imple

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Press Release July 29, 2010 CONTACT: Judy Mayka 202-621-3948
[email protected]
 
FDD Executive Director Testifies before House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform on “Implementation of Iran Sanctions”


Washington, D.C. (July 29, 2010) – Mark Dubowitz, Executive Director of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD) and Director of its Iran Energy Project, testified today (oral and full written testimony can be found here) before the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform on the impact of new U.S. and European sanctions on Iran.

Dubowitz praised President Obama and Congress for passing the Comprehensive Iran Sanctions Accountability and Divestment Act, which he said should cause Iranian leaders to think seriously about abandoning their unlawful nuclear activities. Dubowitz also recommended that Washington vigorously enforce Iran sanctions, imposing heavy penalties on violators and implementing measures to:

1) Penalize companies that operate in the U.S. and do prohibited business with Iran;
2) Deny lucrative U.S. government contracts to companies that do business with Iran;
3) Isolate more Iranian government entities from the international financial system;
4) Establish a bipartisan Sanctions Enforcement Commission in Congress; and
5) Crack down on transshipment points where Iran acquires sanctioned technologies.

Dubowitz explained that the mere threat of U.S. sanctions has already hurt the entire Iranian energy business.

“During President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s first four years in office, foreign investment in Iran’s energy industry plummeted by 64 percent, from $4.2 billion to $1.5 billion,” said Dubowitz. “Government mismanagement has also hamstrung Iran’s energy sector. Ahmadinejad has replaced a number of competent energy technocrats with regime loyalists, including Revolutionary Guard officials who had no previous experience in the energy business. Iranian officials now say that without an annual investment of at least $25 billion, Iran could become a net importer of oil.”

For more information on the Foundation for Defense of Democracies’ research and analysis of Iran’s energy industry, dependence on foreign suppliers and contractors, and vulnerability to sanctions, please contact Judy Mayka at (202) 622-3948 or
[email protected]
.

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The Foundation for Defense of Democracies is a non-profit, non-partisan policy institute dedicated exclusively to promoting pluralism, defending democratic values, and fighting the ideologies that drive terrorism. Founded shortly after the attacks of 9/11, FDD combines policy research, democracy and counterterrorism education, strategic communications, and investigative journalism in support of its mission. For more information, please visit www.defenddemocracy.org.