The United States has imposed sanctions on the Pasdaran that require any assets in the United States to be frozen. But the US report on assets frozen as of the end of 2011 does not list any for the Pasdaran.
Brigadier General Moham-mad-Reza Yazdi told the Young Reporters Club last Monday: “Arrogant powers are trying to pressure the Islamic Republic by legislating unfair laws against our country. Property of the Pasdaran and its subsidiary companies has been unfairly confiscated like many other assets of the Iranian nation.”
He didn’t say what assets the Pasdaran owned abroad. Nor did he explain why the Pasdaran would own any assets abroad.
The Pasdaran have been blacklisted by the European Union as well as the United States.
General Yazdi said the Pas-daran have begun proceedings to retrieve some of the seized property. He said: “Some of the accounts and assets of the Islamic Republic have been returned to the treasury, and efforts to retrieve the rest are in progress.”
The Iran Times has not heard of any such court claims.
The general also said that Western claims that they have frozen the assets of Iranian military officers are a “big lie” because “all Iranian officers have explicitly announced that they have no assets outside Iran to be confiscated by others.”
Commander Yazdi was quoted as saying: “Military commanders have announced that if you [the West] are in possession of any of our funds, we are prepared to sign it off and give you full authority to spend it for the starving American and Europeans and people of those countries who are forced to sell their bodies or resist against the police and endure beatings in order to feed their bellies.”
The United States has never claimed to have frozen any assets belonging to any Pasdar officers or any other Iranian government officials who are subject to sanctions. Yazdi seems to have confused the order to freeze any assets that are found in the United States with the uncovering of assets.