-Caveat Lector- WJPBR Email News List [EMAIL PROTECTED] Peace at any cost is a Prelude to War! Japan snubs U.S. in deal with Iran Plans for huge oil field fly in face of ineffective sanctions ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ -- Editor's note: In partnership with Stratfor, the global intelligence company, WorldNetDaily publishes daily updates on international affairs provided by the respected private research and analysis firm. Look for fresh updates each afternoon, Monday through Friday. In addition, WorldNetDaily invites you to consider STRATFOR membership, entitling you to a wealth of international intelligence reports usually available only to top executives, scholars, academic institutions and press agencies. © 2001 WorldNetDaily.com Japan recently signed a letter of intent to develop a 26 billion barrel oil field in Iran, landing a fatal blow to the U.S. government's Iran and Libya Sanctions Act of 1996. Favorable economic and political considerations will lead Washington to begin changing its policies toward Iran within the next few years. Japanese Trade Minister Takeo Hiranuma announced on June 8 his country will begin a $10 million seismic study on Iran's 26 billion barrel Azadegan oil field. The study will lead to enormous Japanese investment in Iran and sound the death knell for the U.S. government's Iran and Libya Sanctions Act. "Japan is not affected by U.S. pressure,'' Hiranuma told reporters during a signing ceremony in Tehran, the Associated Press reported. Japan's decision, following similar violations of the act by Asian and European countries, did not bring about any retaliation from the U.S. government. The muted response indicates Washington realizes the sanctions have outlived their usefulness and are only harming U.S. interests. Following a brief renewal, the act, which seeks to penalize non-U.S. energy firms that invest more than $20 million in Iran's petroleum sector, will likely be ended after two years, allowing Washington to begin the process of normalizing ties with Iran and letting U.S. companies back into the country. The sanctions act, which former U.S. President Bill Clinton signed into law, came on top of a series of laws and executive orders barring U.S. firms from investing in Iran. The 1996 sanctions immediately drew criticism from every major economic power, all charging that the act couldn't be applied because it was intended to affect events beyond America's shores. As the years have passed, fear of U.S. retribution has slowly evaporated, leaving the sanctions act virtually without merit. The first major violation occurred in 1997, when France's Total, now TotalFinaElf, Malaysia's Petronas and Russia's Gazprom jumped into a $2 billion natural gas project. Italy's ENI just last week penned a $1 billion deal to develop Iran's Darkhovin oil field. Other companies are currently negotiating contracts or are involved in smaller deals. Washington has yet to enact sanctions on any company investing in Iran. Now Japan, one of America's closest allies, feels confident enough to go solo in developing the largest field in Iran. U.S. companies increasingly oppose the sanctions over losing a number of lucrative deals. Despite helping analyze the first round of seismic information from Azadegan – something that raised a number of eyebrows at the U.S. Treasury Department – Conoco is missing out on Azadegan's projected $100 billion in revenues, according to Bloomberg News. The act is even harming the investments of U.S. firms beyond Iran. ExxonMobil lost its bid to manage the massive Kashagan oil project in the Caspian Sea because the sanctions prevented an Iranian export route, the most economically viable option. Therefore, ExxonMobil has undertaken a furious lobbying effort to convince the Bush administration to end the sanctions act. U.S. firms would also love to delve into Iran's natural gas deposits, the most lucrative of which is the 8 trillion cubic meter South Pars field. All told, Iran holds 9 percent of the world's oil and 15 percent of its natural gas. There are political as well as economic reasons to re-engage Iran. Despite moves toward "smart sanctions" that would allow more civilian goods into Iraq, Washington is seeking tighter controls on arms and military transfers to Baghdad. Iran, being the largest regional power, is the logical partner to help contain Iraq. Despite the reasons in favor of lifting the sanctions, such an action is not likely in the short term. Domestic anger with Iran continues over the 1979 embassy seizure and the regime's support of the Hezbollah terrorist group. And U.S. special interests such as the Israeli lobby and isolationist politicians such as Sen. Jesse Helms continue to maintain that the Iran-Libya sanctions act is the bedrock of American foreign policy in the Middle East. Despite the opposition, all of the international economic and political factors argue for the act's dissolution. Most importantly, in Washington there are now individuals in power who quietly support such a decision. Both U.S. President George W. Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney are former oil industry executives who are sympathetic to the concerns of energy companies. Cheney even lobbied the Clinton administration to suspend the sanctions act during his term as CEO of Halliburton. Bush has indicated his position by floating the idea of renewing the act for two years instead of its standard five. The likely elimination of the Iran-Libya sanctions act after that term will set the stage for an end to the measures preventing U.S. companies from doing business in Iran, leading to an eventual rapprochement between the two countries. *COPYRIGHT NOTICE** In accordance with Title 17 U. S. C. Section 107, any copyrighted work in this message is distributed under fair use without profit or payment to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for nonprofit research and educational purposes only.[Ref. http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml ] Want to be on our lists? Write at [EMAIL PROTECTED] for a menu of our lists! <A HREF="http://www.ctrl.org/";>www.ctrl.org</A> DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER ========== CTRL is a discussion & informational exchange list. Proselytizing propagandic screeds are unwelcomed. Substance—not soap-boxing—please! 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