While the US has reimposed all of its sanctions against Iran as of Monday, Iranian officials say that they are still able to sell as much oil as they need to on the international market. Iranian Vice President Eshaq Jahangiri said that the US doesn’t see the reality that their sanctions are failing.
While the sanctions have had limited impact, Iranian officials are still pushing for the European Union to do more to ensure that European companies can continue to do business with Iran without fear of the US.
The EU has promised a clearing house that will facilitate such transactions without running afoul of US banking sanctions. Iranian officials say it is an “interesting” idea, but needs to be sped up to be more practical to use.
US officials have tried to downplay the lack of oil puts by providing waivers to eight nations, including those who had already indicated they intended to defy US sanctions with or without the waiver. China buys most of Iran’s oil, and had said they would continue to do so.
Iran’s oil exports are down some in the past six months, but officials say that they expect the exports to rise again in the months to come.
This is a watershed time for the US as it becomes something that it has long accused Iran of being, i.e. isolated on the world scene.
The domestic scene doesn’t look so hot either for the White House. Rep. Adam Smith, D-Wash., currently the ranking member of the House Armed Services Committee, is expected to become its chairman.
Smith on the JCPOA withdrawal:
Rep. Adam Smith is dead wrong about Iran’s desire for acquiring nuclear weapons, Don Bacon. Both the late Ayatollah Ali Khomeini and the current Ayatollah Ali Khameini issued religious decrees (Fatwas) against acquisition/production of nuclear weapons, and the nuclear scientists obeyed these Fatwas, enriching both uranium and plutonium for peaceful purposes only. The uranium was enriched to generate electricity; the plutonium was enriched to produce medical isotopes located in hospitals across the nation.
The sanctions laid on the Islamic Republic were done so on a pack of lies. Iran’s a peaceful nation that hasn’t attacked its neighbors in 500+ years; can we say the same for the US/UK/NATO? Of course not.
These sanctions were slapped on Iran for only one reason .. Israel and its demented PM, Bibzy Satanyahoo, ordered the US and Europe to do so. However, Europe and the UK are now having second thoughts about this latest round of sanctions, which the US slapped on Iran unilaterally; and the reason for that is that these sanctions are doing more harm to them and to the Iranian people. These allies have urged Trump to lift his sanctions on Iran; but so far, he hasn’t done so. They’ve warned him about isolating the US from the rest of the world.
Whether Smith is right or wrong is not as important as the fact that he is against current US policy toward Iran, along with the opposition of major world powers, perhaps for similar reasons.
We may not agree with those reasons, but that’s secondary. Any political isolation of the US is detrimental to future coalitions of the willing, future aggression. That’s good especially because Smith is involved in the military budget. In April, Smith warned Defense Secretary James Mattis that the Pentagon needed to plan “for a lean future.”
So why not promote the possibility of a scary Iran, when it serves our purpose as well as it assists the actions of the European and other politicians who are supporting the JCPOA, for whatever reason.
Good. Sanctions are an act of war. Completely immoral.
Russia Is Surprise Beneficiary of Iranian Oil Ban
I saw this headline on Dow Jones but could not locate link. Russia is stepping in and supporting Iran and taking some markets as well, essentially giving the middle finger to bolton and pompeo.
Found link:
https://www.wsj.com/articles/russia-is-surprise-beneficiary-of-iranian-oil-ban-1541609785?mod=hp_major_pos2
What ban?
Not sure if rhetorical but took the headline from Dow Jones-think the article does a reasonable job of dealing with the issue-good that Russia is stepping up to this mindless us policy if one can call it that.
It is outrageous that the USA tries to dominate and bully every country on the planet.
But it’s not outrageous when the US fails.