The Biden administration’s lax enforcement of sanctions against Iran’s illicit oil trade has allowed the hard-line regime to funnel more than $15 billion into its military and terrorist proxies over the past two years, according to analysis. a monitoring group.
Iran’s military spending has jumped dramatically in 2022 as the regime has more access to money through its multi-billion dollar trade in illicit oil – money that has made its way to the regime as a result of the Biden administration’s decision not to implement U.S. sanctions, according to United Against Nuclear Iran (UANI), a watchdog group that tracks the regime’s oil sales and military spending.
Iran, according to a UANI report and an open-source military spending database, has allocated $10.5 billion this year to its army and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), a paramilitary fighting force that supports terrorist groups in the region. The figure, which rose from $4.5 billion in 2021, comes after the regime clawed back some $43 billion in funds from illicit oil sales, mostly to China. This money fuels Iran’s regional terrorist enterprise, as well as its domestic repression against a growing protest movement that threatens to topple the extremist regime.
“Once it became clear that the Biden administration would not enforce sanctions as strictly as the Trump administration, the Iranian government dramatically increased its military spending,” according to the latest UANI analysis. “These revenue changes have led to increased military spending by the Iranian government, which includes spending by its terrorist proxies.”
Iran, the monitoring group concluded, has become “significantly wealthier during Biden’s first year in office, in part because of high oil prices, but also because of rising oil volumes. export”. Iran sold $30.09 billion worth of oil in 2021 when Biden took office, and that number has risen to $43 billion this year. Most of these sales were destined for China, Syria and Venezuela. This is a substantial increase from the $12.5 billion the country sold in 2020, when sanctions were still strictly enforced.
Analysts, according to UANI, “generally agree that Iran has been forced to reduce its support for Hezbollah, Hamas, Palestinian Islamic Jihad, Iraqi proxies and the Houthis. [in Yemen] following the reimposition of US sanctions” by the Trump administration. Trump’s ‘maximum pressure’ campaign on Tehran has drastically restricted its oil trade, but those sales have skyrocketed under the Biden administration, which has turned a blind eye to law enforcement as it seeks to to ink a revamped version of the 2015 nuclear deal.
“The lack of sanctions on Iranian oil exports has led to a drastic increase in Iran’s military budget for 2022,” UANI Chief of Staff Claire Jungman said. Free Washington Beacon. “These revenues also directly benefit Iran’s proxies, such as the Houthis and Hezbollah. It wouldn’t surprise me if we see further regional insecurity, destabilization and humanitarian tragedies as Iran seeks to showcasing its power in the region through its increased budget.”
At this point, Jungman said, “there’s no incentive” for Iran to sign a new nuclear deal, because the country and its terrorist proxies “already get everything they want and more through an app.” lax sanctions”.
Under the Trump administration’s strict sanctions regime, Iran and its terrorist proxies have faced a severe liquidity crunch.
The Trump administration’s strict enforcement of sanctions on the Iranian oil trade has had a direct impact on the regime’s support for terrorist groups across the Middle East. Hezbollah, for example, the Lebanese terrorist group armed and led by Tehran, has closed some offices, laid off militants and cut salaries due to shortfalls, according to UANI.
In 2020, Iran sold around $6.6 billion worth of oil to China. In 2021, when Biden took office and eased sanctions, Iran earned $23.1 billion from its oil sales to China, according to figures compiled by UANI.
These monetary windfalls have resulted in increased military and terrorist spending.
“A large part of the Iranian regime’s military budget is earmarked for its proxy terrorist networks,” according to UANI. “Spikes in oil export earnings therefore translate into increased funds allocated to Iranian terrorist proxies, which has led to increased attacks by these proxies. This outcome poses a direct threat to our national security interests, as well than for those of our country, partners and allies in the region.
These expenses are expected to increase if a new nuclear deal is signed because of the massive sanctions relief provided for in the deal.
“There is no reason for Iran to curtail these activities,” UANI wrote. “Iran’s proxies and military – not to mention its nuclear and ballistic missile program – benefit directly from sanctions relief.”
Jerry Canto, research and operations assistant at UANI, said that as long as Iran can continue to sell oil, “its proxies will have the money they need to wreak havoc throughout the Middle East. East”.
