Mullahs in Iran Deserve No “Gold Rush”

Keyvan Salami

[Keyvan Salami]

Some may consider the status quo as a good period for the oppressive dictator in Iran. With U.S. President Barack Obama generously relieving most sanctions under the nuclear deal, the mullahs have jumped to the opportunity for saber-rattling by test launching ballistic missiles, caring less about violating numerous United Nations Security Council resolutions. Tehran has with the utmost temerity humiliated America by capturing its sailors and provoked emotions through firing unguided rockets at a dangerously close range from U.S. ships. Despite all this, President Hassan Rouhani is on a campaign to convince the West Iran is actually a wise place to invest, although with no bona fide whatsoever. The U.S. Congress should broadcast a strong message to Iran that all tools are available to blacklist any individual or entity seeking to profit while innocent lives are lost.

Not So Fast While it may seem tempting, firms across the globe should think twice about placing their capital in the recession-riddled Iranian market . If you have any reservations at all about investing in Iran, trust your instincts and hold on to your checkbook. It may be hard to believe, but investing in Iran (the first ever “Islamic state”) is as dangerous as investing in ISIS. Tehran is hugely in debt, even the Central Bank is borrowing money to pay its employees and unemployment and inflation are skyrocketing. In general, relations between the international community and Iran have been lukewarm at best. These characteristics hardly argue in favor of thawing relations with Tehran.

A Naïve Approach From the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action “implementation day”, companies in the West have gradually began trekking for opportunities to broker trade relations with Iran. Some experts may describe this market as untapped and widely potential in the near and distant future. Iran, of course, has opened its arms to foreign investment after suffocating under crippling sanctions and economic inertia for years now. However, thinking Iran is akin to other emerging markets around the world would be a devastating faux pas, neglecting the true nature of this regime.

The Dark Side of Iran One simply cannot forgo the fact that the regime in Iran is described as the leading state sponsor of terrorism . Thousands of American and coalition soldiers lost their lives or were horribly maimed as Iran supplied and manufactured lethal improvised explosive devices, placed at the disposal of militias in Iraq and Afghanistan. Iran is literally considered Bashar Assad’s big brother, rushing to his rescue in the past 5 years at the cost of half a million people killed, scores more injured and millions displaced. With an offspring list including the Lebanese Hezbollah, Shiite militias and “Death Squads” in Iraq, and the ruthless Houthis in Yemen, Iran is obviously led by a dangerous cult of fanatics hell-bent on descending the entire region into turmoil. All said and done, Iran has also been condemned in 62 United Nations resolutions for its gross human rights violations. The mullahs do not deserve a dime from foreign investors.

Nuclear Windfall for Terror Tehran is most likely to allocate an extensive amount of the $100 billion plus windfall rendered in sanctions reliefs to pave grounds for a spike in death, destruction and terrorism across the globe. The role of the illicit Revolutionary Guards , at the core of the regime apparatus in Tehran, will almost certainly be found in such terror attacks. The vast IRGC conglomerate, replete with front companies, has morphed into a massive business empire, projecting significant influence and political sway. The “most powerful economic actor” is the exact term used by the U.S. Treasury Department in describing the IRGC, reaping in nearly one-sixth of Iran’s GDP, controlling and literally delving into hundreds of various firms, and maybe even enjoying the final say in enormous sectors of Iran’s economy. All this equates into more cash to wreak further havoc across the globe, rather than tackling current and looming dilemmas the Iranian people are suffering from.

Companies in the West should not impel their employees and/or shareholders to become accomplices and acquiesce in deals involving such a notorious regime engulfed in corruption. The U.S. Congress is the best capable body to calibrate preventive measures against Iran’s mullahs, blocking them from procuring any further support to jettison terrorism across the Middle East and beyond. Companies should not be permitted to become recipients of foreign tax credits as a result of Iran receiving levies. While the White House continues to placate the Tehran, if Congress takes a bold stance in clipping the wings of the IRGC and the mullahs, rest assured the international community will cue in to hedge Iran’s strategy and alienate the mullahs. Such a policy is a necessity in the global war against terror the U.S. should be leading from upfront.

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