F O U N D AT I O N F O R D E F E N S E O F D E M O C R A C I E S

Oil Market Impact of Sanctions Against the Central Bank of Iran

Mark Dubowitz & Reuel Marc Gerecht

November 2011

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Oil Market Impact of Sanctions Against the Central Bank of Iran

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Mark Dubowitz Reuel Marc Gerecht
November 2011

FDD PRESS
A division of the FOUNDATION FOR DEFENSE OF DEMOCRACIES Washington, DC

Oil Market Impact of Sanctions Against the Central Bank of Iran

About The Authors

Mark Dubowitz is executive director of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies. His policy work focuses on Iran and Syria, sanctions, and on the use of technology to encourage democratic change. He is the director of the Iran Energy Project which provides leading research and analysis in support of strong, broad-based energy sanctions--including gasoline, natural gas, and oil sanctions--as part of a comprehensive strategy to end the Iranian regimes pursuit of nuclear weapons, support for terrorism and human rights abuses. It also focuses on the risks of foreign companies in doing business with the U.S. government-blacklisted Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, a dominant force in the energy sector. Mr. Dubowitz writes frequently on Iran energy sanctions issues. He is a regular contributor to Forbes Energy Source. His work is often featured in international print and broadcast media. Mr. Dubowitz co-authored past Iran Energy Project reports, including Irans Chinese Energy Partners: Companies Eligible for Investigation Under U.S. Sanctions Law and Irans Energy Partners: Companies Requiring Investigation Under U.S. Sanctions Law. He is the co-author of four confidential studies provided by FDD to the U.S. government on: (1) the oil market impact of sanctions against the Central Bank of Iran; (2) the role of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps in the Iranian crude oil supply chain; (3) the role of the IRGC in the refined petroleum trade; and, (4) the creation of the United States as an Iranian-Oil-Free Zone to prohibit the importation into the U.S. of refined petroleum products derived from Iranian crude. Mr. Dubowitz has testified before Congress on Iran sanctions issues and briefed the military, government and counterterrorism officials on a range of national security and terrorism-related concerns. Reuel Marc Gerecht is a senior fellow with the Foundation for Defense of Democracies. He focuses on Iran, Iraq, Afghanistan, terrorism, and intelligence. Mr. Gerecht is the author of The Wave: Man, God, and the Ballot Box in the Middle East (Hoover Institution Press, 2011), Know Thine Enemy: A Spys Journey into Revolutionary Iran (Farrar, Straus & Giroux, 1997) and The Islamic Paradox: Shiite Clerics, Sunni Fundamentalists, and the Coming of Arab Democracy (AEI Press, 2004). He is a contributing editor for The Weekly Standard and a correspondent for The Atlantic Monthly, as well as a frequent contributor to the Wall Street Journal, the New York Times, and other publications. He is the co-author of two confidential studies provided by FDD to the U.S. government on: (1) the oil market impact of sanctions against the Central Bank of Iran, and, (2) the creation of the United States as an Iranian-Oil-Free Zone to prohibit the importation into the U.S. of refined petroleum products derived from Iranian crude. Mr. Gerecht served as an Iran specialist at the CIAs Directorate of Operations.

Oil Market Impact of Sanctions Against the Central Bank of Iran

About The Iran Energy Project

The Iran Energy Project is a project of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD). The project (www.Iranenergyproject.org) provides research and analysis that identifies Irans energy vulnerabilities as part of a comprehensive sanctions strategy to end the Iranian regimes nuclear weapons program, support for terrorism, and human rights abuses. The project also analyzes the prominent role of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps in Irans energy industry. Companies still doing business with Iran risk being sanctioned by the United States, the European Union, Canada, Australia, and other countries. The Iran Energy Project tracks these companies using available open sources and publishes its findings on a website that is free to the public. The website also provides breaking news, critical analysis, and relevant legislation. In the past year, many of Iran's major energy partners have ended their business ties with Iran. To assist government officials with effective sanctions enforcement, the Iran Energy Project provides updates on companies that remain in the Iranian energy sector, as well as those that resume their business ties. FDDs Iran Energy Experts are: Mark Dubowitz Executive Director Reuel Marc Gerecht Senior Fellow Emanuele Ottolenghi Senior Fellow, Brussels Benjamin Weinthal Fellow, Berlin Jonathan Schanzer Vice President of Research Laura Grossman Senior Research Analyst, Program Manager, Special Research Projects

About the Foundation for Defense of Democracies

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.

FOUNDATION FOR DEFENSE OF DEMOCRACIES

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LEADERSHIP COUNCIL

Amb. Max Kampelman Fmr. Ambassador Bill Kristol Editor, The Weekly Standard Sen. Joseph Lieberman U.S. Senator (I-CT)

Dr. Paula Dobriansky Fmr. Under Secretary of State for Democracy and Global Affairs Steve Forbes CEO, Forbes Magazine Judge Louis Freeh Fmr. Director of the FBI

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Kathleen Troia KT McFarland Richard Perle Steven Pomerantz Oliver Buck Revell Bret Stephens Hon. Francis Bing West

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Dr. Jeane J. Kirkpatrick Fmr. Ambassador to the UN

Clifford D. May President Mark Dubowitz Executive Director

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Iran Energy Project

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