Caesar Act: US sanctions against Iran's partners are a statement of intent

Washington will not spare Venezuela, Syria and Hezbollah – or anyone else for that matter – for doing business with Tehran

A worker of the Venezuelan state oil company PDVSA waves an Iranian flag as the Iranian-flagged oil tanker Fortune docks at the El Palito refinery in Puerto Cabello, in the northern state of Carabobo, Venezuela. AFP

Workers on the 'Fortune' the Iranian ship with gasoline in Puerto Cabello, Venezuela. EPA

Iranian-flagged oil tanker Fortune docked at the El Palito refinery after its arrival to Puerto Cabello, in the northern state of Carabobo, Venezuela. AFP

A worker of the state-oil company Pdvsa holds an Iranian flag during the arrival of the Iranian tanker ship "Fortune" at El Palito refinery in Puerto Cabello, Venezuela. Reuters

Crew of the Iranian tanker ship "Fortune" are seen at the deck during the arrival at El Palito refinery in Puerto Cabello, Venezuela. Reuters

Workers of the state-oil company Pdvsa holding Iranian and Venezuelan flags greet during the arrival of the Iranian tanker ship "Fortune" at El Palito refinery in Puerto Cabello, Venezuela. Reuters

A Venezuelan oil worker holding a small Iranian flag attends a ceremony for the arrival of Iranian oil tanker Fortune at the El Palito refinery near Puerto Cabello, Venezuela. AP Photo

The Venezuelan industry minister Tareck El Aissami (C), speaks next to Venezuela's defence Minister Vladimir Padrino(R) after the Iranian oil tanker Fortune docked at the El Palito refinery in Puerto Cabello, in the northern state of Carabobo, Venezuela. AFP

A worker of the Venezuelan state oil company PDVSA looks at the oil tanker Fortune as it docks at the El Palito refinery in Puerto Cabello in the northern state of Carabobo, Venezuela. AFP

Workers with the flags of Venezuela and Iran waiting for Venezuela Minister of Petroleum Tareck el Aissami in Puerto Cabello, Venezuela during his visit to the 'Fortune' Iranian ship. EPA

Venezuela Minister of Petroleum Tareck el Aissami in Puerto Cabello, Venezuela during his visit to the 'Fortune' Iranian ship. EPA

The scope and scale of American sanctions against the Iranian regime evidently run wide and deep. They extend themselves from faraway Venezuela to nearby Syria via Lebanon. They also target such specific figures as Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, Syrian President Bashar Al Assad and Hassan Nasrallah, who heads the Lebanese militia group Hezbollah; common to all these figures is, of course, their errant behaviour on the global stage and a refusal to play by international rules.

In oil-rich Venezuela, the Russians and Chinese weighed their options against Washington's clampdown on Caracas's ability to sell them its crude – through a sanctions regime that left petroleum companies petrified – and decided to leave. When Iran stepped into the breach, it too faced the Trump administration's music: when Caracas began trading its gold in exchange for refined fuel transported to the beleaguered South American country in Iranian tankers, the US imposed sanctions on 125 of those tankers and blocked the only route available, thereby triggering an economic collapse in Venezuela.

Last week, the Syrian regime was slapped with the Caesar Act, a piece of US legislation that seeks to curb the ability of Mr Al Assad, his family members and associates to continue profiting from the ongoing civil war and getting away with their crimes against humanity. Washington's goal may not be to topple the regime but force it to drive out its Iranian backers currently operating within its borders and agree to a power-sharing agreement with the opposition.

After nearly a decade of war, Syria is crumbling under the weight of a repressive, corrupt ruling elite, a pandemic and an economic downslide compounded by western sanctions. AP Photo

Souvenir plates bearing the Syrian flag and the portraits of Russian President Vladimir Putin and Syrian President Bashar Al Assad are pictured in a shop in a bazaar in old Damascus. AFP

A man works in his metal workshop beneath a portrait of Syrian President Bashar Al Assad in old Damascus earlier this week. AFP

A Syrian boy carrying textiles is pictured in the bazaar in old Damascus. AFP

A Syrian shopkeeper waits for customers in a bazaar in old Damascus. AFP

Syrians walk in old Damascus in front of a portrait of Syrian President Bashar Al Assad. AFP

Syrian shoppers walk in the bazaar in old Damascus. AFP

Syrian men work in their bakery in old Damascus. AFP

Employees stack packets of the Syrian pound in the Central Syrian Bank in Damascus. AP Photo

An anti-Assad regime demonstration under way in Suweida, southern Syria, in early June 2020. AFP

Meanwhile in crisis-hit Lebanon, where Hezbollah has a stake in government, it appears that Nasrallah has a plan ostensibly to save his country from economic collapse by ending the "dollarisation" of its economy. It is a pipe dream – one that is predicated on the idea of Beirut bartering with Tehran using the national currency – and could effectively turn Lebanon into another Venezuela, which pursued a "gold for oil" arrangement with Iran. He has also pledged to keep Lebanon's border with Syria open and help Damascus in any way Hezbollah can.

It is worth noting that Nasrallah has struck a defiant note from a position of considerable weakness, having been set back by sanctions put in place against Hezbollah and its patrons in Tehran.

At least that is how Brian Hook, the US Special Representative for Iran, sees it, based on my conversation with him at the Beirut Institute seventh e-policy circle last week. Mr Hook has accused Nasrallah of “shedding crocodile tears” for the Lebanese people, who have been feeling the economic pinch for the past few months, thanks in large part to gross mismanagement by its government. “Hezbollah has undercut the security, prosperity and welfare of the Lebanese people – in the same way that the Iranian regime has done that for the Iranian people," he added.

To be sure, the situation in Lebanon is more complicated.

The people there have long been accustomed to blaming others for their problems, with many of them living either in selfish apathy or in the shadow of their sectarian leaders. A case in point is the uprising that began last October with much promise before the people allowed it to be co-opted by partisan elements across political and ideological divides. As a result, the country continues to be riddled with the same old economic and governance problems, with little appetite on the part of the ruling elite to implement much-needed reforms.

Of course, Hezbollah is a significant piece in that puzzle. And if one were to take Mr Hook at his word, this will not be the last that Nasrallah – or for that matter Mr Al Assad and the regime in Tehran – have heard from the Trump administration.

“The US is going to withhold reconstruction assistance for Syria until all forces under Iranian command and control leave the country," he said. "Iran has got to get out of Syria and I see increased incentives for both [Russia] and [Mr Al] Assad to at some point have Iran exit."

Lebanese anti-government protesters take part in a symbolic funeral for the country in the capital Beirut on June 13, 2020, the third consecutive day of demonstrations over a deepening economic crisis. AFP

Lebanese anti-government protesters throw rocks at soldiers amid clashes in the Bab al-Tabbaneh neighbourhood in the northern port city of Tripoli on the third consecutive day of demonstrations against deepening economic crisis. AFP

Lebanese soldiers deploy by a civil defence firefighting truck during clashes with anti-government protesters in the northern port city of Tripoli amid fresh demonstrations over a spiralling economic crisis. AFP

Lebanese civil defence firefighters extinguish flames in a shop as anti-government protesters and security forces clash in the northern port city of Tripoli amid fresh demonstrations over a spiralling economic crisis. AFP

Lebanese soldiers with riot gear react during clashes with anti-government protesters in the northern port city of Tripoli amid fresh demonstrations over a spiralling economic crisis. AFP

Lebanese anti-government protesters block a road with burning tyres in the northern port city of Tripoli amid fresh protests over a spiralling economic crisis. AFP

Lebanese anti-government protesters clash with security forces in the northern port city of Tripoli amid fresh protests over a spiralling economic crisis. AFP

Lebanese anti-government protesters buy corn from a street vendor next to burning garbage bins during clashes with security forces in the northern port city of Tripoli amid fresh protests over a spiralling economic crisis. AFP

Lebanese anti-government protesters take shelter behind a public phone booth as a local bank's branch burns during clashes with security forces in the northern port city of Tripoli amid fresh protests over a spiralling economic crisis. AFP

Lebanese anti-government protesters take part in a symbolic funeral for the country in the central area of the capital Beirut on the third consecutive day of demonstrations over a deepening economic crisis. AFP

Lebanese soldiers deploy during an anti-government protest in the Bab al-Tabbaneh neighbourhood in the northern port city of Tripoli on the third day of demonstrations across the country over deepening economic crisis. AFP

Lebanese soldiers clash with anti-government protesters in the Bab al-Tabbaneh neighbourhood in the northern port city of Tripoli on the third day of demonstrations across the country against deepening economic crisis. AFP

In other words, Washington aims to pressure Moscow, which is allied to Damascus, to break away from Tehran – or possibly face sanctions of its own, including the blacklisting of its businesses under the Caesar Act. Mr Hook described the US move so far as a statement of its intent to bring change. “People should understand that if we are willing to target and designate [Mr Al] Assad, then no one who is involved in these atrocities [in Syria] should feel safe," he said.

It is therefore important for the Lebanese and Syrian people, and their leaders, to understand that the Caesar Act is a tool that the US is determined to use with the purpose of holding wrongdoers accountable – much the same way Venezuela is being dealt with.

Circling back to Caracas, its relationship with Tehran has come under scrutiny. But Elliott Abrams, the US Special Representative for Venezuela, told me that it is the larger impact of the Maduro government's actions that concerns him more. Predicting that Iran would eventually stop shipping fuel to Venezuela, Mr Abrams said: "We'll see if they have enough tankers actually to [continue] this [arrangement]."

He compared the situation pertaining to refugees and displaced people in Syria with that of Venezuela. "The Maduro dictatorship has created five million migrants and refugees, and this burden is a very heavy one for Latin America, South America, and particularly in the Caribbean," he pointed out. "It's the largest refugee crisis in the history of Latin America. By the end of this year, it will be larger than the Syrian refugee crisis."

According to Mr Abrams, the unfortunate situations prevalent in both countries are the outcome of "human action by corrupt, venal, brutal rulers". And that the Trump administration has determined that the only solution is that "those rulers must go".

Raghida Dergham is the founder and executive chairwoman of the Beirut Institute