28 February 2008
Inroads Made in Thwarting Iran's Weapons Programs
Treasury's O'Brien says international cooperation combats terrorist financing
Washington -- The U.S. government, following a twofold strategy of using domestic authorities and international outreach, has made important advances in thwarting Iran's nuclear and missile programs, according to a Treasury Department official.
"In addition to a variety of domestic U.S. actions, multilateral efforts have yielded critical success in the adoption of two ... U.N. Security Council resolutions -- Resolutions 1737, 1747 -- imposing significant sanctions on Iran. These resolutions target Iran's nuclear and missile programs and, among other requirements, obligate states to freeze the assets of named entities and individuals associated with those programs," Patrick O'Brien, Treasury’s assistant secretary for terrorist financing, said at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy February 27.
Perhaps the most significant success in countering Iran's weapons programs, in O'Brien's view, was getting the Security Council to recognize the role played by Iran's state-owned banks, especially Bank Sepah.
The assistant secretary said that the Financial Action Task Force, an intergovernmental body formed in 1989 to combat money laundering and terrorist financing, has issued public statements confirming the "extraordinary systemic risks" that Iran poses to the international financial system. The task force provided guidance to help countries implement the financial aspects of the U.N. resolutions against Iran. He praised the task force for naming customers and transactions with Iran.
"Jurisdictions all over the world have begun issuing warnings to their financial institutions of such risks," he said.
O'Brien said that cooperation with the private sector is vital to making the battle against terrorist financing effective, noting that the U.S. government has met with "more than 40 banks around the world to share information and discuss the risks of doing business with Iran."
Charitable institutions are another element of the private sector that warrant scrutiny. "It is a sad reality, but terrorist organizations continue to effectively exploit charity to finance their operations and to cultivate broader support from vulnerable populations," he said.
O'Brien's office works with an array of interagency partners to combat exploitation of charities by terrorist groups. A key element is raising awareness of terrorist financing threats to the charitable sector through comprehensive and sustained outreach, he said.
Actions against terrorist financing are rarely effective in preventing terrorists from acquiring materials used in terrorist attacks, such as precursor chemicals or suicide belts, but they are useful in interrupting the financial terrorist life cycle, O'Brien said. This involves propaganda, radicalization, recruitment and support gained through the delivery of welfare and social services, he added. Other areas where the actions are effective are obstructing training, travel and safe havens from which terrorists could launch operations. Perhaps most important, according to O'Brien, global cooperation makes it more difficult for terrorists to obtain the financial and logistical means to acquire weapons of mass destruction.
"Sanctions have the most comprehensive impact when applied cooperatively and collectively. We are working hard internationally, with governments and the private sector, to build consensus and capacity to do just that," O'Brien said.
The full text (PDF) of the speech is available on the Washington Institute for Near East Policy Web site.
