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In Iran, Sanctions Aim at Shipping Lifeline
(Washington Post) Thomas Erdbrink and Joby Warrick - On June 30, the Danish shipping giant Maersk startled Iran's trade officials by abruptly pulling out of the country's three largest ports. A week earlier, the Obama administration had declared the ports' operator to be an arm of Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps, a group linked to terrorism and weapons trafficking. Other shipping companies followed suit, and soon Iran was scrambling to find alternative ways to import food and other critical supplies - precisely the effect that U.S. officials were hoping for. After two years of failed efforts to entice Iran with diplomatic carrots, the Obama administration is quietly toasting successes at using economic sticks. A series of U.S. and international sanctions imposed over the past year have slowly undermined Iran's ability to conduct trade by targeting the country's access to international banking, insurers and transportation companies. "The impact is real," said National Security Council spokesman Tommy Vietor, describing canceled or frozen projects in Iran's energy sector alone that total $60 billion.