Wow, the Deutsche bank is one of the largest banks in the world and for them and Dresdner bank to pull out of Iran signals to me that the financial squeeze is really starting to take effect.
Of course, Iran is stepping up the rhetoric:
The vice governor of the Iranian central bank, Mohammad Jafar Mojarrad, told the Financial Times Deutschland that the banks' actions could have long-term consequences.
"We are not happy with the banks' decision," he said.
"There is no guarantee that one can return when the good times are here again."
Mojarrad said that because business ties are based on trust, it would be "very difficult to re-establish trust when it has been abused."
What that tells me is that the US economic sanctions as well as the fiscal responsibilities that come with it are starting to take root in Iran. Banks only care about money (well duh) and if they see potentially losing billions in dollars over dealing with Iran, any idiot would pull out of Iran in a heartbeat.
This is actually a very good tactic as it pushes Iran into a corner without having to extend ourselves militarily. It allows us to drive a wedge between Iran and others, and it makes Iran think twice about it's nuclear intentions.
Just how far and how expensive does Iran want their nuclear program to get? Hard to say, but they've backed down before under less pressure, so when the third set of sanctions comes around, you can bet that Iran will start to see that we are serious over their ambitions.
Travis
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