Obama vetoes plan to disclose assets of Iranian leaders
A number of Congress members have drafted a bill calling for the disclosure of the assets of Ayatollah Khamenei, Hassan Rouhani, and a number of commanders of the Revolutionary Guards and Basij. The White House has announced that Barack Obama will veto the proposed bill.
The White House announced that Barack Obama will veto a new US Congressional bill to disclose the assets of Iranian leaders, including Ayatollah Khamenei. In a statement issued by the White House on Wednesday (September 21), it was stated: "Providing this information would also reveal the sources and methods of information collection."
The White House, warning that the congressional proposal would further obscure shady dealings, wrote that Obama's senior advisers are recommending that he veto the bill.
The Congressional proposal targets the disclosure of assets of Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei, President Hassan Rouhani, and a number of high-ranking politicians affiliated with the Revolutionary Guards, the Quds Force (the IRGC's military arm for overseas operations), and Basij commanders.
Rep. Bruce Pelkin, a sponsor and organizer of the bill, believes that its passage would help show the world how Iran “facilitates human rights abuses through the money it steals from the people of this country.”
The White House has argued that the “Iranian Leaders Asset Disclosure” plan will not cause Tehran to stop financing terrorism or money laundering, and on the contrary, the plan will even encourage Iranian officials to hide their assets even more.
The White House has also said that the plan could be “interpreted by Iran as an attempt by the United States to undermine the nuclear deal with Tehran.”
Republicans critical of Obama interpret the $400 million cash payment to Iran, which took place in January of this year, as "ransom" for the release of American prisoners.
The White House has said that the payment to Iran is related to a $1.7 billion arms deal that was signed with Iran during the reign of Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi and was suspended after the 1979 revolution.
Source: DW
