US Lifts Sanctions on Italian Firm Helping Iran Cheat

US President Barack Obama's administration has removed the Italian textile and chemical company Dettin Spa from its sanctions list, after the firm helped Iran evade American sanctions.

The lifting of sanctions was announced last Thursday, and an expert cited by the Washington Free Beacon on Tuesday warned the move showed a lenient stance by the US in catering to Iran even before the Islamic regime holds up its side of the controversial nuclear deal.

Dettin Spa still has a presence in Iran, and was sanctioned back in August 2014 for "knowingly providing Iran’s petrochemical industry with goods and support whose value exceeded $250,000," as reported by the US Treasury Department at the time.

Saeed Ghasseminejad, an Iranian dissident and expert at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, told the Washington Free Beacon that "what raises questions about the de-listing decision is its timing."

"The de-listings are supposed to happen on the implementation day, it is not clear why this company is removed from the sanction list at this time. Removing companies from the sanction list even before the implementation day sends a clear message that Iran is open for business even though Iran has not delivered its nuclear promises yet."

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