Black markets make Iran sanctions tough

WASHINGTON, Oct. 5 (UPI) -- Black market networks will make it difficult for the United States to truly quarantine Iran's economy through sanctions, observers say.

The White House says it is working to keep up pressure on Tehran over its alleged nuclear ambitions and is recruiting other nations to impose a new round of sanctions if Iran doesn't negotiate on the issue.

But the difficulty in doing so is highlighted by the case of a Dutch aviation services company whose owner has admitted in U.S. federal court he had illegally channeled American aircraft and electronics parts to Iran from 2005 to 2007, The New York Times reported Monday.

The scheme was unveiled in court documents only a day before President Barack Obama and European allies announced Iran was maintaining a secret uranium enrichment facility.

"The Iranians have a lot of experience at this point in evading sanctions," Michael Jacobson, an intelligence and sanctions specialist at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, told the Times. "They are adaptable, learn from mistakes, see where the United States cracks down and move elsewhere. And on the part of businesses, there is a lot of willful blindness."