EIL: Release of Iranian General License C – Funds Tranfers Related to Earthquake Relief Efforts, To or For the Benefit of Persons in Iran Authorized until October 5, 2012 – EIL

The Office of Foreign Assets Control has issued Iranian General License C, which authorizes, for a 45-day period, U.S.- based non-governmental organizations to raise funds and send those funds to Iran to be used for earthquake relief efforts in response to the August 11, 2012 earthquake in northwestern Iran.

US: Clarifying Guidance on Humanitarian Assistance to Iran

The American people send the Iranian people our deepest condolences for the loss of life in the tragic earthquake in northeastern Iran. Our thoughts are with the families of those who were lost, and we wish the wounded a speedy recovery. We stand ready to offer assistance in this difficult time. In light of this tragedy, we would like to highlight the ways Americans can provide humanitarian assistance to the Iranian people:

• Donations of food and medicine, when intended to be used to relieve human suffering, are exempt from the sanctions on trade between the U.S. and Iran, as long as the donations are not being sent to the Government of Iran or any Iranian individual or entity on the Treasury Department’s List of Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons (SDN List). For all practical purposes, such donations to the Iranian people, including transactions needed to ship permissible donations, can occur without a license from the Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC). [Additional information on food and medicine donations to Iran can be found here.]

• OFAC generally regards the exportation or re-exportation of medical devices to Iran, whether donated or for sale, to require a license under the Trade Sanctions Reform and Export Enhancement Act of 2000 (TSRA). [Guidance on how to apply for a TSRA license can be found here.]
• Since 1995, OFAC has permitted U.S. financial institutions to process noncommercial, personal remittances to Iran. Such transactions, which may include a personal transfer of funds from the U.S. to Iran to assist a friend or family member, may originate from a U.S. financial institution but must be processed through a third-country financial institution before reaching Iran. [The guidelines of the General License can be viewed here and here, and additional clarification is provided on OFAC’s FAQ page.]

Iran Rejects U.S. Aid After Earthquake

On August 12, 2012, the United States offered aid to Iran after two earthquakes reportedly hit some 230 villages near the northwest city of Tabriz on August 12. The early official Iranian reports cited more than 300 dead, 3,000 injured and some 16,000 left homeless. The United States has previously provided aid to Iran after earthquakes, notably after a 2003 quake devastated the historic city of Bam in southeast Iran. More than 26,000 were reportedly killed. The Bush administration dispatched search and rescue squads, aid coordinators and medical support.

Iran rejected aid from the United States as well as Turkey, Taiwan, Germany and Russia for the latest earthquake. The following statements are from the Obama administration and the head of Iran’s Red Crescent.

Statement from the White House Press Secretary

“The American people send the Iranian people our deepest condolences for the loss of life in the tragic earthquake in northwestern Iran. Our thoughts are with the families of those who were lost, and we wish the wounded a speedy recovery. We stand ready to offer assistance in this difficult time.”

Comment by Iran’s Red Crescent Chief Abdolhossein Faghih

“We received offers of help from several countries … but as we have sufficient men and resources we did not need this foreign aid. We thanked them for their offers.”

Official Sources Continue to Downplay Earthquake Devastation

by MUHAMMAD SAHIMI

Press Roundup provides a selected summary of news from the Farsi and Arabic press and excerpts where the source is in English. Tehran Bureau has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy. Any views expressed are the authors’ own. Please refer to the Media Guide to help put the stories in perspective. You can follow breaking news stories on our Twitter feed.Marzieh Vahid-Dastjerdi, minister of health, has announced that a total of 306 people died as a result of the earthquakes in East Azerbaijan province on Saturday. According to the minister, 210 women and children, and 49 men lost their lives in hospitals. The rest, she said, were already dead by the time rescuers pulled them out of the rubble.

Quakes show danger in laxity in enforcing building codes

By M.A. Saki, Mehr News Agency

Iron, cement, and brick have been used in the construction of most buildings in villages in East Azerbaijan Province, yet many buildings either collapsed or sustained serious cracks when two earthquakes measuring 6.2 and 6 on the Richter scale hit the region on Saturday afternoon.

If construction materials are properly utilized, edifices must resist quakes much stronger than these two.

Iranian geophysicist and seismologist Bahram Akashesh said on Sunday that in developed countries, earthquakes with a magnitude of the ones that hit East Azerbaijan cause only six injuries and not hundreds injured and more than 200 dead.

“In other countries, such an earthquake leaves six people injured and not hundreds dead and injured,” Akashesh stated.

Iranian lawmakers slam ineffective relief delivery to quake hit areas

Source: Radio Zamaneh

The representatives in Iranian Parliament for Eastern and Western Azerbaijan Provinces have criticized the government’s management of the earthquake emergency in northeastern Iran, while the Minister of Health announced that the number of fatalities from the two quakes that hit the country on Saturday has now reached 306.

by Mana Neyestani

On Saturday, earthquakes measuring 6.2 and 6 shook the cities of Ahar and Varzaghan in northwestern Iran.

The delivery of relief and the state media’s coverage of the disaster have been heavily criticized in the past few days.

Quakes bring death and destruction to East Azarbaijan, Iran

Photos by ISNA photographers

At least 306 people have died and more than 4500 injured in two successive earthquakes that hit province of East Azarbaijan in the northwestern Iran on Saturday afternoon. These dramatic photos by ISNA photographers show the plight of the victims of the quake who have to face the tragic loss of their loved ones, their homes, and even their villages.

Long lines in Tehran and Tabriz to donate blood for quake victims

Photos by Rouhollah Yazdani and Ahmad Nabizadeh, Mehr News Agency

People in the cities of Tehran and Tabriz have rushed to donate blood to help the victims the Saturday quake that has taken 300 lives so far and injured over 2000 others. As a result, long lines have been formed at the blood donation centers overwhelming the staff. According to the Institute of Geophysics of the University of Tehran, a quake measuring 6.2 on the Richter scale hit the city of Ahar in East Azarbaijan Province at 4:53 p.m. local time at a depth of 10 kilometers, and a 6 magnitude quake struck the city of Varzaqan at 5:04 p.m. local time at the same depth.

Iran earthquakes in photos – Part 7

Iran earthquakes in photos – Part 6

Iran earthquakes in photos – Part 5

People in the streets of Tabriz after strong quakes hit the region

People in the city of Tabriz in northwestern Iran sought refuge in the streets after two strong quakes hit the region. According to Tehran University’s Seismological Center, the first earthquake had a magnitude of 6.2 with its epicenter some 60 kilometers from Tabriz. That was followed by a second earthquake with a magnitude of 6.0. Tabriz, the capital city of Iran’s East Azerbaijan province, sits at altitude of 1,350 meters above sea level at the junction of the Ghuri Chay a

nd Aji Chay rivers. It has been the second largest city in Iran until the late 1960s and one of its former capitals and residence of the crown prince under the Qajar dynasty. The city has proven extremely influential in the country’s recent history. With a population of about 1,600,000 [2007 census], Tabriz is Iran’s Fourth largest city. There is still no official report on the number of possible casualties or damage to properties by the quake. Iran sits astride several major faults in the earth’s crust, and is prone to frequent earthquakes, many of which have been devastating. The worst in recent times hit Bam in southeastern Kerman province in December 2003, killing 31,000 people – about a quarter of its population – and destroying the city’s ancient mud-built citadel. The deadliest quake in the country was in June 1990 and measured 7.7 on the Richter scale. About 37,000 people were killed and more than 100,000 injured in the northwestern provinces of Gilan and Zanjan. It devastated 27 towns and about 1,870 villages. Tehran alone sits on two major fault lines, and the capital’s 14 million residents fear a major quake.

Iran earthquakes in photos – Part 2

TABRIZ, Iran, Aug. 12 (MNA) – On Saturday afternoon two successive strong earthquakes struck villages near the city of Tabriz in northwest Iran. The quakes, measuring 6.2 and 6 on the Richter scale, have so far left at least 180 people dead and 1500 injured. According to reports 60 villages have sustained damages ranging between 50 to 80 percent. Six villages have also been completely destroyed.

Iran earthquakes in photos – part 1

TABRIZ, Iran, Aug. 12 (MNA) – On Saturday afternoon two successive strong earthquakes struck villages near the city of Tabriz in northwest Iran. The quakes, measuring 6.2 and 6 on the Richter scale, have so far left at least 180 people dead and 1500 injured. According to reports 60 villages have sustained damages ranging between 50 to 80 percent. Six villages have also been completely destroyed.