Michael Goldfarb is reporting over at the Weekly Standard that the Export-Import Bank is attempting to scuttle Iran sanctions legislation that is working its way through the House .

This set of sanctions would target Iran's import of refined oil products-gasoline and heating oil. Despite vast quantities of petroleum, Iran has made a shambles of its own refinery network and relied on outside companies (Indian and others) to provide its gas stations with fuel. Iran has met with protests from its citizens when it has tried to ration and raise the price of its heavily subsidized gas. One of their weakest points is precisely the one that the House is focusing on as a way to dissuade Iran from developing nuclear weapons.

It appears that Barack Obama's appointee as head of the Export-Import Bank  is operating behind the scenes to thwart these attempts to bring a halt to Iran's nuclear program.

Goldfarb writes:

The Export-Import has given loan guarantees to companies that are doing business in Iran, including, in one case, to the Reliance corp of India, which was using Ex-Im support to build a refinery, and then to sell refined petroleum to Iran. That loan prompted vocal criticism from lawmakers on Capitol Hill. Democratic Rep. Brad Sherman put together a bipartisan letter in the House late last year, while Senators Lieberman and Kyl raised similar concerns among their colleagues in the Senate. Sherman said at the time that while he supports "the Export-Import Bank's mission of supporting US exports...we must ensure that when we provide assistance, the corporate recipients are not doing business with our enemies."

Now the Export-Import bank is trying to scuttle bipartisan, broadly supported Senate legislation that would sanction companies doing business with Iran even as Iran thumbs its nose at the Obama administration and threatens to build ten new enrichment facilities.

Wouldn't want anything to get in the way of that fruitless engagement process-or, seemingly, Iran's nuclear program. Certainly, not a surprise that "cutouts" (Obama appointed officials) are working to fulfill the President's goals. That is one way to avoid one's own responsibility.