Given New Oil Import Data, UANI Calls on Obama Administration to Retract and Revise Past Assurances Regarding Sanctions Relief

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 14, 2014  
Contact: Nathan Carleton, press@uani.com
Phone: (212) 554-3296

Given New Oil Import Data, UANI Calls on Obama Administration to Retract and Revise Past Assurances Regarding Sanctions Relief
Administration's November and December Promises No Longer Comport with Reality

[Click here to view a graph showing Iran's oil exports since the Geneva agreement was reached.]

New York, NY - United Against Nuclear Iran (UANI) CEO, Ambassador Mark D. Wallace, made the following statement today regarding new data from the International Energy Agency, showing that buyers imported 1.41 million barrels of Iranian oil per day in both January and February: 

It is now indisputable that the Geneva agreement is affording Iran far more sanctions relief than the Obama administration originally described. We respectfully call on President Obama and his administration to retract their past assurances to the American people, that "Iran's oil exports will remain steady at their current level of around 1 million barrels per day," and "We will not allow Iran's exports to increase." President Obama's previous assurances on Iran sanctions no longer comport with reality. Indeed, Iran's oil exports have increased 85% since October.

More importantly, President Obama and his administration should also retract and revise their oft-repeated official estimate that "The total relief envisioned in the JPA amounts to between $6-7 billion--nowhere near the $20 or $40 billion that some have reported."

Less than two months into the implementation of the Geneva agreement, Iran has already received more than $7 billion in sanctions relief, and is very much on pace for the $20 billion-plus figure estimated by UANI. In fact when the economic benefits of other aspects of the sanctions relief--such as in the automotive, precious metals, and petrochemical sectors--are finally calculated, Iran's total sanctions relief will likely far exceed $20 billion.

Iran's extraordinary economic windfall is particularly disappointing as Iran has not dismantled a single centrifuge nor has it dismantled in any way its IR-40 heavy water reactor. We call on President Obama and his administration to not only revise their erroneous estimates on sanctions relief, but also to reverse the current trajectory of Iran's blossoming economy. President Obama and his administration should take immediate action to get Iran's increasing oil exports back below one million barrels per day, and outline that action to the American people.

On January 28, Ambassador Wallace testified before the U.S. House Foreign Affairs Committee, regarding the implementation of the Geneva agreement. Said Ambassador Wallace: "The White House estimates that Iran stands to receive $6 billion to $7 billion in sanctions relief. The true value of the sanctions relief is well more than $20 billion. Just calculate the increase in oil sales lest there be any doubt. Now, we believe there will be far less pressure for Iran to actually make material concessions on its nuclear program."

Click here to view UANI's Geneva Interim Nuclear Agreement Tracker.
Click here to view a transcript of Ambassador Wallace's January 28 testimony.

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