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Enriching Our Enemies: Here’s Who Gets Rich in Russia After the Iran Nuclear Deal.

Ukraine-Related Sanctions Won’t Apply to Billions of Dollar Into Russia’s Coffers.


Photo for: Enriching Our Enemies: Here’s Who Gets Rich in Russia After the Iran Nuclear Deal.

Russia and Iran are working overtime to put the United States in the loser’s circle once the ink dries on a new Iran nuclear deal. This week, Moscow hosted a conference, inviting 70 Iranian companies to hobnob with 250 of Russia’s richest, most influential (corrupt) business people.

One Iranian diplomat said of the powwow “the two countries of Iran and Russia will witness a leap in their bilateral relations.” So, not exactly a great development for the United States.

“The Biden administration has reportedly provided Russia with assurances that Moscow will not be targeted with sanctions if it begins construction on new Iranian nuclear sites. Russia announced this week that it had received a letter from the State Department assuring it ‘that the Ukraine-related sanctions wouldn’t affect Russia’s nuclear cooperation with Iran,’ according to a report in Iran’s state-controlled press.

Here’s a question: why not? Seems like something we should bust up, no?

“At the same time that the Biden administration tries to pressure European countries to cut trade with Russia, they’re supercharging Russia’s trade with Iran to clinch their new deal,” said Gabriel Noronha, a State Department special adviser for Iran under former secretary of state Mike Pompeo.

And he’s right. Russia’s top state-run companies stand to get very rich after this handshake.

“Russia’s state-controlled Rosatom energy firm and at least four of its major subsidiaries will receive sanctions waivers under a new accord so that they can complete nuclear projects in Iran worth more than $10 billion,” Washington Free Beacon reports.

This sentiment is echoed by veteran nuclear proliferation expert Andrea Stricker.

“Russian state-owned firms stand to gain billions of dollars under a revived Iran nuclear deal and would be exempted from U.S. sanctions. Washington should be working to close every one of the Kremlin’s revenue streams, not letting Moscow enrich itself while it is committing mass atrocities.”

This deal has disastrous outcomes for the U.S. —the other guys, not so much. Democrats have finally joined a growing chorus of concerned Republicans on Capitol Hill. Fox News is reporting “18 Democrats say the U.S. should not enter into a bad deal with Iran that allows its terrorist activities to go unchecked and fails to prevent Iran from ever obtaining a nuclear weapon.”

“We understand that while the recent negotiations have not concluded, we feel that we can’t stay quiet about the unacceptable and deeply troubling turn that these talks have reportedly taken,” Rep. Elaine Luria (D-VA) said at a news conference.

Don’t stay quiet —not on this one.