Setting up a new level of hostility toward Iran after the US withdrew from the P5+1 nuclear deal, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo promised “unprecedented financial pressure” Monday in comments to the Heritage Foundation. He said the US would impose the “strongest sanctions in history” against the Iranians.
The justification for this was a vague mention of Iran being a “malign influence,” and false allegations that they have “nuclear ambitions,” despite Iran still being a part of a nuclear deal which limits them to only a very small civilian nuclear program.
Pompeo said sanctions are in full effect and more are coming. He further issued a broad string of demands on the Iranians. This included withdrawing all forces from Syria, and totally ending support for both Hezbollah and Hamas.
Asking Iran to withdraw all “forces” from Syria is likely not possible for them to comply with, as US officials have generally presented Shi’ite militias who aren’t from Iran in the first place as “Iranian controlled” force. Iran could no more expel these Shi’ites from Syria than the US could remove all Kurdish forces from Syria.
Whether the demands are reasonable, or practical, is neither here nor there anyhow. That’s because Pompeo is not suggesting that compliance with all of these demands would mean an end to sanctions. Even if he did, the US just got done reneging on sanctions relief toward Iran with the nuclear deal.
The Trump Administration wanted out of the nuclear deal to start ratcheting up sanctions, which they see as an end unto themselves. Having done so, Pompeo is just bragging about how great those sanctions will be, not implying that there is any way to avoid them.
Not expecting good things from this, only hope it has opened peoples eyes to the fact that the US only signs and sticks with treaties when they are to their advantage and interests and also have no qualms at breaking them when they consider it has served it’s purpose. Wonders why anyone would sign a treaty with the US in the first place.
US behavior is like that of a spoiled kid who owns the only bat and baseball in the neighborhood. Surprise, Wall Street will soon cease to be the only game in town. I wonder if the Pompous One can beg for business as well as he can threaten to cut everyone off. He would make one “sorry-ass” salary-man in Japan.
Unless The EU caves to the economic pressure, the U.S. is going to look like the drunk guy waiting outside the bar to pick a fight with the guy who is inside the bar having a drink with his buddies until 2 AM.
The strongest sanctions against Iran were in the 1980’s when the Iraq attacked Iran (with American weapons and Funding) millions died in the 8 year war that Iran eventually won.
America is the new Nazi Germany.
And Muslims are the new Jews.
The Third Reich didn’t rain Depleted Uranium down on its victims. In a few years, all that will remain of their legacy will be in museums…kinda like the Indigenous Americans…
Russia has said a few days ago that it wants all foreign troops to leave Syria.
I also think that at least US and Iranian instructors, constructors should leave Syria.
How about Syria decides who stays? That includes Russia.
It’s virtually certain that the Syrians want the Iranians out. Assad is a secular, Baathist dictator. His greatest enemies are Islamists. Just because Iranians are religious fanatics who are on his side doesn’t make them any less not his kind of people.
Best way to get Iran out of Syria? Let Assad consolidate. He’d politely ask them to leave faster than you could say, “atheism is our state religion.”
Pompeo is showing his might as the real head of US diplomacy like all the rest before him. Might is right, never cooperate, never listen, tell all other countries what to do, punish them if they keep to international law which we disdain. USA USA USA!!!
Pompeo’s 12 demands of the Iranians remind me of the “Ultimatiums” handed to the Serbs by the Austro-Hungarians which eventually led to the First World War. The intention was regime change in that instance too.
The parallels go further than that. I recall (could look it up) that the Serbs actually responded… by complying with all of them. To which the German foreign minister remarked, “how can we make war now? They’ve agreed to everything.” But of course the Austrians said, “you agree? Not good enough!” And invaded anyway, triggering the war.
If Iran was to agree, it’s 100% certain that Pompeo and the rest would say, “you do? Not good enough!” And would keep on going.
“If Iran was to agree, it’s 100% certain that Pompeo and the rest would say, ‘you do? Not good enough!’ And would keep on going”
True. In fact, that was how the “nuclear agreement” finally happened. The US kept making demands it didn’t think Iran would agree to. Every time Iran would agree, the US would say “no, wait,” and escalate its demands. It wasn’t until the rest of the P5+1 finally said “well, there’s really nothing left you can demand, they keep giving you everything you say you want, so put up or shut up because we’re sick of your gas” that the US reluctantly agreed to stop punching Iran in the kidneys and give it back a litte of its stolen lunch money.
The further we proceed in moving the goalposts, as directed by Sheldon Adelson (the true power behind all of Netanyahu, the settlers, and Trump), the more the outlines of a deal become clear.
The deal that is available to the Iranians is this: they have to cease to exist. That’s the way to avoid American and Israeli enmity. Nothing short of that will do.
They could cease travel outside of Iran. Dismantle their army, navy, their nuclear facilities, their centrifuges.
Declare the state religion to be Judaism, and change the national language to Hebrew.
It would still not be enough, because they would still exist, and therefore constitute an unacceptable threat to Israel, some day, perhaps, maybe; and therefore, intolerable.
They have to be gone: it’s the only way for Israel to be safe.
God help us if, even if they did dismantle any kind of defense, that they might have an economy that allowed them to have schools, and teach Iranians things like science. Obviously that would be the road to nuclear weapons! Unacceptable!
Short of their simply ceasing to exist, Sheldon will put up having the US Air Force and Navy bomb them back to the stone age every three years or so. From now until forever.
As seems to be the plan.