A Warning About Iran's Deceptive Business Practices

 

In the wake of the United States' withdrawal¹ from the Iran nuclear deal and the renewed imposition by the U.S of nuclear-related sanctions on Iran, many companies are ending their business involvement with Iran because they do not want to run afoul of U.S. sanctions.

In an address in Washington, U.S. Treasury² Under Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence Sigal Mandelker warned, however, that it is often difficult for businesses and governments to even know they are dealing³ with Iran because of the regime's employment of subterfuge⁴ “to finance itself and its long list of malign⁵ activities:”

“It uses forged documents to hide its participants and deceive legitimate⁶ private and public actors...It finds what it perceives to be weak links and exploits those links in the hopes that its activities will go undetected. It uses officials with influence and credentials⁷ to facilitate its illicit⁸ transactions. And all of this is in support of nefarious⁹ activity, whether it is funding terrorists, supporting WMD proliferation, or exploiting its own people through corruption¹⁰ and human rights abuses.”

“Everyone must open their eyes to the true nature of the Iranian regime,” Under Secretary Mandelker said. The reason why the U.S. has imposed sanctions on Iran is to thwart¹¹ the regime's terrorist activity in the Middle East; its support for the murderous Assad regime in Syria; its development of ballistic missiles; and its rampant¹² abuse of the Iranian people.

Under Secretary Mandelker urged governments and banks around the world to be alert to Iran's deceptive¹³ practices. “You must harden your financial networks, require your companies to do extra due diligence to keep them from being caught in Iran's deceptive web, and make clear the very significant risks of doing business with companies and persons in Iran.”

She declared, “We will hold those doing prohibited business in Iran to account.”

Addressing U.S. allies, Under Secretary Mandelker said, “We must work together to pressure Iran to make tangible¹⁴, demonstrated, and sustained shifts in its policies.” In the meantime, she added, the United States “will continue to shine a light on Iran's destructive activities and target Iran's efforts to deceive the international community, undermine the international financial system, and violate the laws of our allies and partners.”

1 withdrawal   

n.取回，提款；撤退，撤军；收回，撤销

参考例句：

• The police were forced to make a tactical withdrawal.警方被迫进行战术撤退。
• They insisted upon a withdrawal of the statement and a public apology.他们坚持要收回那些话并公开道歉。

2 treasury   

n.宝库；国库，金库；文库

参考例句：

• The Treasury was opposed in principle to the proposals.财政部原则上反对这些提案。
• This book is a treasury of useful information.这本书是有价值的信息宝库。

3 dealing   

n.经商方法，待人态度

参考例句：

• This store has an excellent reputation for fair dealing.该商店因买卖公道而享有极高的声誉。
• His fair dealing earned our confidence.他的诚实的行为获得我们的信任。

4 subterfuge   

n.诡计；藉口

参考例句：

• European carping over the phraseology represented a mixture of hypocrisy and subterfuge.欧洲在措词上找岔子的做法既虚伪又狡诈。
• The Independents tried hard to swallow the wretched subterfuge.独立党的党员们硬着头皮想把这一拙劣的托词信以为真。

5 malign   

adj.有害的；恶性的；恶意的；v.诽谤，诬蔑

参考例句：

• It was easy to see why the cartoonists regularly portrayed him as a malign cherub.难怪漫画家总是把他画成一个邪恶的小天使。
• She likes to malign innocent persons.她爱诋毁那些清白的人。

6 legitimate   

adj.合法的，合理的，合乎逻辑的；v.使合法

参考例句：

• Sickness is a legitimate reason for asking for leave.生病是请假的一个正当的理由。
• That's a perfectly legitimate fear.怀有这种恐惧完全在情理之中。

7 credentials   

n.证明，资格，证明书，证件

参考例句：

• He has long credentials of diplomatic service.他的外交工作资历很深。
• Both candidates for the job have excellent credentials.此项工作的两个求职者都非常符合资格。

8 illicit   

adj.非法的，禁止的，不正当的

参考例句：

• He had an illicit association with Jane.他和简曾有过不正当关系。
• Seizures of illicit drugs have increased by 30% this year.今年违禁药品的扣押增长了30%。

9 nefarious   

adj.恶毒的，极坏的

参考例句：

• My father believes you all have a nefarious purpose here.我父亲认为你们都有邪恶的目的。
• He was universally feared because of his many nefarious deeds.因为他干了许多罪恶的勾当，所以人人都惧怕他。

10 corruption   

n.腐败，堕落，贪污

参考例句：

• The people asked the government to hit out against corruption and theft.人民要求政府严惩贪污盗窃。
• The old man reviled against corruption.那老人痛斥了贪污舞弊。

11 thwart   

v.阻挠，妨碍，反对；adj.横(断的)

参考例句：

• We must thwart his malevolent schemes.我们决不能让他的恶毒阴谋得逞。
• I don't think that will thwart our purposes.我认为那不会使我们的目的受到挫折。

12 rampant   

adj.(植物)蔓生的；狂暴的，无约束的

参考例句：

• Sickness was rampant in the area.该地区疾病蔓延。
• You cannot allow children to rampant through the museum.你不能任由小孩子在博物馆里乱跑。

13 deceptive   

adj.骗人的，造成假象的，靠不住的

参考例句：

• His appearance was deceptive.他的外表带有欺骗性。
• The storyline is deceptively simple.故事情节看似简单，其实不然。

14 tangible   

adj.有形的，可触摸的，确凿的，实际的

参考例句：

• The policy has not yet brought any tangible benefits.这项政策还没有带来任何实质性的好处。
• There is no tangible proof.没有确凿的证据。