Having spent weeks hyping up the idea of a threat posed by Iran against
the world, US special envoy Brian Hook is now shifting his talking
points to threatening those nations directly.
Hook warned the European Union in particular against
its attempt to establish a clearing house to allow trade with Iran,
saying that the entire continent of Europe has to make a choice: do
business with the United States, or do business with Iran.
This is a problem for the P5+1 members in the European Union, as the
nuclear deal with Iran obliges them to offer sanctions relief. Since the
US reneged on the deal, they’ve not only refused to trade with Iran,
but are trying to prevent the rest of the world from doing so as well.
That’s why the EU had to create the clearing house: because US threats
have scared off all the banks in Europe. The program will allow
companies to trade with Iran without money crossing borders, and thus
eliminating the need for banks.
Hook, however, insists that no country has any waivers from America
allowing them to buy Iranian oil, or carry out other business with them.
Even though in practice it is none of America’s business, Hook said the
US intends to sanction any country caught buying oil from Iran in any way.
The US threats are largely empty. China has continued to buy oil from
Iran despite US warnings, and the US clearly can’t do anything about it.
The EU has a similarly large economy and should be able to also call
the administration’s bluff, but so far, banks haven’t shown any faith in
the EU backing up their promises to protect their companies.
How did we ever manage to stoop to the level of a high school clique trying to make its dislike of some individual to become universal approbation l? Our hatred of Iran and our desire to destroy it comes directly from the racist, criminal state of Israel – no other countries are buying the Israeli hatred. We have become insane.
Replace the word “we” with “they”, and you’ll figure it out.
Dude, just ask the Indians, we were born insane. This is just the latest chapter in a long and dismal psych eval.
No Israeli leader is seriously affraid of Iran. Why? Because iran is not a threat. The truth is, it is the US military racketeers who need new targets to unload their excess inventory of missiles that is behind the Iran provocations. The US has no intention of sending troops to Iran; it only wants a reason to lob missiles. Russia is telling iran that if it reacts it plays into the US game. Best would be for EU and Russia and China to create mechanisms that the US cannot access. Who knows, maybe they already have such a mechanism. Meantime, the world missile strikes are limited. Or at least that is what it seems. Why don’t the Democrat whiners over climate change not confront the US military???
This will only drive Europeans closer to Russia and China. Sanctions on Russia were the best thing that could happen to them. It forced them to look East, to the New Silk Road initiative which will ultimately kill the petrodollar. Hopefully, sanctions on Iran will do the same. Europe will eventually tell the Americans to go pound sand if they know what’s best for their economies.
This is the classic tactic of the playground bully. Pick on the small kids, hit them, whilst the others look on, too scared to get involved.
Well, we have left the playground behind, this is the adult World and there is a bully standing alone. The bully should be left alone and if he lashes out, then the rest of the adults should come together to discipline him – that means placing sanctions on the USA.
If we let the Bully blackmail us we will get more and more squeezed. All the sanctions are illegal, the USA is the criminal, Iran has committed no crime and is not a threat. Stand up and fight.
The choice is not between US and Iran; the choice is between the rule of law and the law of the jungle.
Have You Heard of the CIA’s Iran Mission Center?
http://ronpaulinstitute.org/archives/featured-articles/2019/june/27/have-you-heard-of-the-cia-s-iran-mission-center/
Another irrelevant matter, at least as far as it applies to whether there is a war with Iran or not. The US is going to pursue that war even if the whole world condemns it (which most countries do) and the UN Security Council forbids it (if that ever happens, which the US will veto anyway.)
Not even Congress can stop it, since the war can be started under the “60-days” rule, and once started, Congress will never have the balls to unilaterally stop it without being accused of “not supporting the troops” and “not supporting Israel”, yada, yada.
The Iran war is a done deal between Israel and the neocons. And every other heavy hitter in the US – the military-industrial complex, the oil companies, and the banks – supports it. So there’s nothing can be done, just like the Iraq war couldn’t be stopped.
And it doesn’t matter that we’re “after the Iraq war” – nothing has changed. Trump was elected to prevent a new war – and he’s the one pushing for a new one. And even if he’s scared of being blamed for starting a new one and alienating his base, if the neocons or Israel start it, he won’t have any choice but to support it, just like Congress. So he’s helpless, too. He’s painted himself into yet another corner.
“Marxist theocratic regime”? I guess War with Iran is getting rolled into the red scare part VII or whatever stage it is we are at.
“Marxist theocratic regime” Lol. The US really has checked out of reality.
Yeah. The DC crazies just keep on adding dog whistle words to describe Iran. This is the age old tactic of demonizing another country in order to justify wars.
Shades of “you’re either with us or with the terrorists” reptile-brained scaremongering by the Bush/Cheney administration just post-9/11.