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West Seizes on Iran's Currency Woes
(Wall Street Journal) Jay Solomon and Laurence Norman - The U.S. and Europe are working on new coordinated measures intended to accelerate the recent plunge of Iran's currency and drain its foreign-exchange reserves, according to officials from the Obama administration, U.S. Congress and EU. A stepped-up sanctions campaign would include a ban on Iranian natural-gas exports and tighter restrictions on transactions with Tehran's central bank, European officials said. The U.S. and EU are also considering moves to block all export and import transactions through Iran's banking system. U.S. officials believe that the widening financial penalties on Iran are making it harder for Iran's central bank to gain access to as much as 30% of its reserves, which are invested overseas. Outside economists now estimate inflation is running as high as 70% annually.