Don't tread on me? An Iranian demonstrator walked past placards of President Obama and former President Bush before setting them on fire in Tehran last month. Vahid Salemi/APHow Europe's Companies Are Feeding Iran's
Bomb -- The Wall Street Journal
Bomb -- The Wall Street Journal
While the U.S. has ratcheted up its efforts to prevent Iran from obtaining nuclear arms, the Islamic Republic is reaping a windfall from European companies. These firms' deals aid a regime that is bent on developing nuclear weapons and which financially supports the terror organizations Hamas and Hezbollah.
The Austrian oil giant OMV is itching to implement a €22 billion agreement signed in April 2007 to produce liquefied natural gas from Iran's South Pars gas field; at last May's annual shareholder meeting, Chief Executive Officer Wolfgang Ruttenstorfer said OMV was only waiting for "political change in the U.S.A." Raiffeisen Zentralbank, Austria's third-largest bank, is active in Iran and, according to a story by the Journal's Glenn Simpson last February, has absorbed the transactions of key European banks that shut down their operations in Iran. And in late January Paolo Scaroni, CEO of Italian energy corporation Eni SpA, told the Associated Press that his firm will continue to fulfill its contractual obligations in Iran and feels no external pressure to sever ties with Iran's energy sector.
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More News On Ian's Nuclear Program And The Six Party Talks
Major Powers Discuss Iran, Nuclear Diplomacy -- Radio Free Europe
Six-nation diplomacy offensive on Iran -- Vancouver Sun
Envoys urge Obama to talk directly with Iran -- International Herald Tribune
Washington to rethink policy within six weeks -- Financial Times
Six nations hail new U.S. diplomatic offer for Iran -- China View
6-nation talks on Iran in Germany -- AP
World powers hold first Obama-era talks on Iran -- AFP
Stumbling Blocks To Relations With Iran -- NPR
Iran seen just years away from nuclear capability -- Reuters
Iranians wary of Obama's approach -- Christian Science Monitor