Financial Transparency Coalition

After decades of sanctions and years of negotiations, the permanent members of the UN Security Council (and Germany) have reached a temporary deal on Iran’s nuclear program. Under the agreement, for the next six months, Iran will halt activities that would enable it to make a nuclear weapon and allow international inspectors to dramatically increase their oversight of the program. In exchange, the United Nations and the United States will ease international economic and financial sanctions (including by unfreezing billions in Iranian assets abroad). Not everyone is happy with the deal. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called it an “historic...

Yesterday, the nation’s top intelligence official, James R. Clapper Jr., briefed Congress on the most important security threats facing our nation. Clapper didn’t bother to hide his disdain for the annual event, calling an open hearing on intelligence matters a “contradiction in terms.” In a more subtle critique, Clapper also noted that it is virtually impossible to “rank—in terms of long-term importance—the numerous, potential threats to U.S. national security.” In that vein, Clapper said it is the “multiplicity and interconnectedness of potential threats—and the actors behind them—that constitute our biggest challenge.” On that critique, I couldn’t agree more. One of...

Following Several, Recent, High-Profile Cases Against International Banks for Violating U.S. Sanctions Against Iran, the Iranian Rial Lost 60% of its Value against the U.S. Dollar Last Week. Could There Be A Connection?

Iran's currency is in free-fall. After a slow slide throughout 2012, the Iranian Rial all of the sudden took a dive this week, according to CNN: