Congresswoman Heather Wilson, First Congressional District of New Mexico
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| The World Bank and Iran |
November 19, 2007 |
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Dear Friends,
Sometimes, you come across something that makes so little sense that you have to check it out because it is just too unbelievable.
At the urging of the United States, most states have now put sanctions on Iran because of its failure to comply with International Atomic Energy Administration requirements for its nuclear program. The sanctions were not as strong as we wanted, but they've had more of an effect than I expected.
Iran is heavily dependent on foreign investment and big banks have been reluctant to loan Iran money when its under sanctions.
A few weeks ago, I learned that the World Bank is actually going to lend Iran money. That's right. The World Bank, whose number one contributor is the United States, intends to make loans to Iran for infrastructure projects like Tehran's sewer system.
And the bank they are going to extend the credit to? The same one that is financing Iran's nuclear program.
This is the kind of thing we just have to completely put a stop to. International financing institutions backed by money from U.S. Taxpayers should be required to comply with sanctions against Iran. If they don't, we should stop giving them money.
Have a Happy Thanksgiving,
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