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IS THE WAR AGAINST IRAN ON HOLD? WAR AGAINST THE HOLD? IRAN Is Iran's asset privatisation policy a strategy to avoid military strikes by the USA and Israel or to freeze out American economic and strategic interests despite the threat of sanctions? ALL-OUT WAR OR "ECONOMIC CONQUEST"? ehran is to allow foreign investors, in what might be interpreted as an overture to the West, to acquire full ownership of Iran's state enterprises in the context of a far-reaching "free market"~style privatisation program. With the price of crude oil at 140 US dollars a barrel, the Iranian state is not in a financial straitjacket as is the case in most indebted developing countries, which are obliged by their creditors to sell their state assets to pay off a mounting external debt. What are the political motivations behind this measure? And why now? Several western companies have already been approached. Tehran will allow foreign capital to purchase unlimited shares of state-run enterprises that are in the process of being sold off. While Iran's privatisation program was launched during the government of Mohammad Khatami in the late 1990s, the recent sell-off of shares in key state enterprises points to a new economic design. The underlying measure is far- reaching. It goes beyond the prevailing privatisation framework applied in several developing countries within America's sphere of influence. According to the Press TV website (30 June 2008): "The move is designed to attract greater foreign investment and is part of the country's sweeping economic liberalization program. "Tran will no longer make a distinction between domestic and foreign firms that wish to purchase state-run companies—provided that the combined ownership of foreign firms in any particular industry does not exceed 35 per nant cent... "As an example, a foreign firm may purchase an Iranian steel company but it would not be allowed to buy every business enterprise in Iran's steel industry. "Among the new incentive measures announced, foreign firms may also transfer their annual profit from their Iranian company out of the country in any currency they wish."! It is important to analyse this decision carefully. The timing of this announcement by the Iranian Privatization Organization (IPO) coincides with mounting US-Israeli threats to wage an all-out war against Iran. Moreover, the divestment program is compliant with the demands of the "Washington Consensus". The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has confirmed, with some reservations, that Tehran is committed to a "continued transition toward a viable and efficient market economy", while also implying that the building of "investor confidence" requires an acceleration of the privatisation program.’ In its May 2008 review (Article IV Consultation), the IMF praised Tehran for its divestment program, which essentially transfers the ownership of state assets into private hands, while also underscoring that the program was being carried out in a speedy and efficient fashion. Under the threat of war, is this renewed initiative by Tehran to privatise key by Prof. Michel Chossudovsky © 4 July 2008 Centre for Research on Globalization, Montreal, Canada Web page: http://www. globalresearch.ca/ index.php2context=va&aid=9501 © 4 July 2008 Centre for Research on Web page: http://www. globalresearch.ca/ index.php2context=va&aid=9501 NEXUS ¢ 11 Globalization, Montreal, Canada AUGUST — SEPTEMBER 2008 www.nexusmagazine.com