Violating international law, European Parliament urges EU to add IRGC to terror list
Press TV – January 18, 2023
In violation of international law, the European Parliament has voted to call on the European Union and its member states to place Iran’s Islamic Revolution Guard Corps (IRGC) on the bloc’s terror list.
On Wednesday, the parliament members backed an amendment added to an annual foreign policy report, calling for “the EU and its member states to include the IRGC in the EU’s terror list.”
The hostile move passed by a vote of 598 in favor and nine against, with 31 abstentions.
The amendment will urge Brussels to blacklist the IRGC military force, the voluntary Basij force as well as the Quds Force.
And it would hit “any economic and financial activity involving businesses and commercial activities related to, owned, wholly or in part, by, or fronting for, the IRGC or IRGC-affiliated individuals, regardless of their country of operation.”
The vote does not oblige the European Union to act, but it comes as foreign ministers are already due to discuss tightening sanctions on Tehran at a meeting in Brussels next week.
“The EU Parliament has today voted to call for the EU and its Member States to include the IRGC on the EU’s terrorist list. The amendment… was passed with an overwhelming majority,” European Parliament member Charlie Weimers of Sweden tweeted on Wednesday.
He added, “Tomorrow, I hope members will take the next step & call to suspend the JCPOA.”
The JCPOA stands for the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, which is the official name of the 2015 Iran nuclear deal.
The marathon talks in the Austrian capital of Vienna aimed at the removal of anti-Iran sanctions and revival of the nuclear deal, underway since April last year, have remained stalled since August over foot-dragging by the United States and refusal to provide necessary guarantees to Iran.
The “politically manipulated” actions of the UN nuclear agency and the probe into so-called “uranium traces” found at “three undeclared sites” have also emerged as a key obstacle.
Iran maintains that the measures taken by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) have been at the behest of the Israeli regime and the Western states to seek leverage in ongoing nuclear talks.
Israeli foreign minister Eli Cohen welcomed the European Parliament’s decision to blacklist the IRGC.
Earlier on Wednesday, Iranian Interior Minister Ahmad Vahidi censured “some Europeans” for their attempts to designate IRGC as a foreign terrorist organization, stating that the move clearly attests to the mental and political weakness of its architects.
“There is no room for concern about the plan, and Iran’s Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) will strongly press ahead with its path,” Vahidi told reporters after weekly cabinet meeting in the capital Tehran.
He underlined that the decision by a number of Western governments to blacklist the elite force as a terrorist organization contravenes the international regulations, and is a testimony to the mental, moral and political weakness of its engineers.
As usual, defense bill gives millions of dollars to Israel, but no one tells Americans
By Alison Weir | If Americans Knew | December 23, 2022
Unlike U.S. media, Israeli media announce that the new spending bill contains many millions of dollars for Israel, which is a tiny foreign country known for its human rights abuses and spying on the U.S.
Israel National News reports that the Fiscal 2023 National Defense Authorization Act signed into law today “includes significant pro-Israel provisions, and the pro-Israel lobby AIPAC commended Congress for the approval.” The report specified:
The bipartisan defense measure authorizes $500 million in FY 2023 for US-Israel missile defense cooperation. This includes funds for Israeli procurement of Iron Dome, David’s Sling, and Arrow and for bilateral [sic] research, development, test, and evaluation.
Other important provisions include, as noted in the AIPAC statement:
- The DEFEND Act, which specifically authorizes the US to cooperate with allies & partners in the Middle East–including those who signed the Abraham Accords–to develop & implement an air & missile defense architecture to defend against Iran.
- Increases in the authorization for the US-Israel Counter Unmanned Aerial Systems (C-UAS) program from $25 to $40 million per year.
- The Iran Nuclear Weapons Capability Monitoring Act, which establishes a joint task force led by the U.S. Department of State to monitor and regularly report to the appropriate congressional committees on Iran’s nuclear weapons and missile activities.
The US has continuously provided Israel with defense aid, including in the 2016 memorandum of understanding signed during the Obama administration that guarantees Israel $38 billion in security assistance over 10 years, protecting the assistance from the whims of any current or future president.
This past March, the US Senate approved by a majority of 68 to 31 an omnibus spending package which includes defense aid for Israel. The legislation includes more than $4.8 million in aid for Israel and $1 billion in additional funding for Iron Dome.
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This is just the tip of the iceberg of the cost of Israel to Americans.
Various U.S. bills provide a combined annual total of U.S. tax money to – and on behalf of – Israel of over $7 billion per year, or approximately $20 million per day.
On top of that are the continuing costs to Americans of the Iraq War (at least $2 trillion), which was promoted by Israel and embedded Israel advocates on behalf of Israel.
Western sanctions prevent dozens of food shipments from reaching Iran
The Cradle | December 21, 2022
At least 40 merchant ships carrying grains and sugar are stranded off the coast of Iran due to delays in payments that have been ongoing for weeks, according to shipping data reviewed by Reuters.
Ship tracking data shows that the carrier ships are currently stuck outside the major Iranian ports of Bandar Imam Khomeini and Bandar Abbas.
The Iranian Ports and Maritime Organization said in late November that 37 ships loaded with 2.2 million tons of goods had not been able to unload their cargo due to “documentation and hard currency payment issues.”
One western trade source quoted by Reuters estimated that the cargoes stuck outside Iran are worth more than $1 billion, with charterers facing delay costs known as demurrage.
While western sanctions on Iran allegedly exempt food and medicine purchases, the weight of the punitive measures on the country’s financial system greatly restricts payment methods, forcing authorities to rely on complex and erratic arrangements with international companies.
Iran counts among the driest countries in the world, with an average rainfall of only 250mm a year. Despite its nearly 165 million hectares of land, only about 50 million is arable, with just 18 million hectares used for farming.
According to data compiled by the US Department of Agriculture, due to severe droughts, Iran is expected to import 5.5 million tons of wheat during the 2022/23 season, down from 8.0 million during the previous season, but still well above normal levels.
Iranian authorities have, in recent years, prioritized boosting food security in the country to confront western sanctions.
In September, Venezuela offered millions of hectares of agricultural land to Iranian producers. Other reports indicated that Russia had also offered 100,000 hectares of land – an attestation to how Tehran has been pursuing its plans of trans-territorial farming in various countries.
The idea of trans-territorial farming surfaced in Iran over two decades ago. However, it was not until 2016 that officials started implementing measures to achieve this as part of their strategy to secure food supplies for the country.
Tehran, which between 2004 and 2017 celebrated its self-sufficiency in strategic products like wheat, and even exported part of its wheat surplus in 2017, now needs to import grains to make up for shortfalls in production.
US playing ‘dangerous game’ in Yemen, insists on aggression: Ansarullah
Press TV – December 14, 2022
Yemen’s popular resistance Ansarullah movement has warned against the United States’ military presence in the country, saying Washington is playing a “dangerous game” as it insists on pursuing a policy of aggression while impeding the national peace process.
Ali al-Qahoum, a member of Ansarullah’s Political Bureau, made the remarks during an exclusive interview with Lebanon’s al-Mayadeen television network on Tuesday night.
“The presence of US troops in the Bab al-Mandab and off the coast of Yemen poses a serious threat to maritime navigation,” he said, adding that it further proves Washington’s aggressive policy against the impoverished country.
He went on to say that Saudi Arabia’s war and blockade against Yemen over the past eight years has been fully coordinated by the US, noting that “Riyadh is nothing but a tool in the hands of Washington to execute its policy of aggression with the participation of Israel, the UK and France.”
The Ansarullah official further noted that “the US and UK’s tendencies to keep the conflict ongoing and impose more embargo on Yemen, demand the utmost national responsibility of enhancing steadfastness.”
“If the Americans insist on aggression and blockade, the response will be in a way that achieves the required effect and sufficient pressure on the aggressor, whoever it may be,” he added.
Al-Qahoum further stated that our message to the Saudi-led coalition is that “elusiveness, gaining time, changing tools, and all the aspects of aggression and conspiracies are unacceptable.”
“We tell the aggressor countries not to rely on time and not to count on the deceptiveness of the United Nations and the US envoys as the overall equation is changing and the reality is different,” he added.
He further pointed out that “the only guarantor for the return of the ceasefire is that the demands of the Yemeni people and their rights be respected, which will open the prospects for peace, and there is no way to achieve this through deception.”
The UN-brokered truce between the Saudi-led coalition and Yemen first came into effect in April and has been extended twice since.
In mid-October Yemeni Foreign Minister Hisham Sharaf said there would be no talks about the extension of the six-month truce which expired on October 2 unless the nation’s legitimate demands were fully met.
Saudi Arabia launched the devastating war on Yemen in March 2015. The objective was to reinstall the Riyadh-friendly regime of Abd Rabbuh Mansour Hadi and crush the popular Ansarullah resistance movement, which has been running state affairs in the absence of a functional government in Yemen.
While the Saudi-led coalition has failed to meet any of its objectives, the war has killed hundreds of thousands of Yemenis and spawned the world’s worst humanitarian crisis.
Washington and London have been providing the coalition with direct arms, logistical, and political support, including through outfitting it with precision-guided ammunition that the Saudi-led forces have been using amply against Yemen’s civilian population.
Iran against the West’s hybrid warfare
By Viktor Mikhin – New Eastern Outlook – 10.12.2022
Western countries, above all the United States, are seeking to replicate Afghanistan and Iraq scenario in Iran, creating chaos to destroy the country and loot its resources, Scott Bennett, a former US Army Special Operations Officer, said honestly and truthfully. “The West is fully committed to an absolute chaotic breakdown of Iranian government, religious, and military sectors in Iran, as they did in Afghanistan and then Iraq, in order for chaos to be created and Iran be divided up into regions for national resources theft,” Scott Bennett told the Tehran Times. He also stressed that Israel is the main instigator of Western hostility and maneuvers against Iran, using these tensions to carry out its attacks in Lebanon, Syria and Iraq.
It is becoming increasingly clear that a campaign of domestic terrorism is being unleashed against Iran under the guise of fake protests allegedly in defense of “human rights,” as has been done in Syria by the United States, Israel and NATO. The same powers are using similar methods and the same mercenaries to participate in the attempted color revolution, the operation to change the Iranian regime. Most likely, these terrorists are a combination of Wahhabi fanatics, Israeli Mossad, Likud party supporters, supported by the US CIA, British MI6 intelligence and some elements in Iraq, terrorists from al-Qaeda, al-Nusra, not destroyed ISIS (that is, the three banned in the Russian Federation), other mercenaries and thugs hired and paid for by the West.
The plan is for foreign terrorists to infiltrate Iran and cause internal strife, tribal and sectarian enmity, conflict between Shia, Sunnis, Alawites, Christians, Jews and Kurds living in Iran. The main areas targeted for fomenting unrest, conflict and violence are precisely in those parts of Iran where there is a mixed population. Mobile phones, social media and Western media are heavily used in the process. The beginning was the emergence of a women’s protest movement over a false allegation that a woman had allegedly died under police torture, when in fact she had died of medical complications caused by a previous serious illness.
The specifics of hybrid warfare, as Scott Bennett argues, are a combination of small-scale operations that take the form of diplomatic, information, military and economic action against Iran to create leverage that can then be used to destabilize the government and create chaos in Iran. On the diplomatic front, hostile statements in the United Nations, various NATO and European Union structures will increasingly be used to spread propaganda and disinformation to other countries about Iran, about alleged abuses of “human rights,” about nuclear programs aimed at undermining Western hegemony and security.
Numerous analysts acknowledge that NATO and the EU are strengthening their defense capabilities not only in Europe, but also abroad, including in the Gulf region. President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen recently outlined elements of a new European security doctrine, the EU and NATO approach to security in the Persian Gulf. Her remarks at the Manama Dialogue in Bahrain on November 18 reflect what is widely seen as a new and aggressive approach aimed at further escalating tensions in the region, taking advantage of the extremely hostile attitude of many countries there towards Iran.
One can also see how Israel under the Netanyahu regime is stepping up aggressive air attacks against Syria and continuing to invade Iraqi and Persian Gulf airspace as probing maneuvers against Iran. The Israeli and US air forces will conduct their biggest joint air exercise in years, simulating strikes against Iran. Fighter aircraft from both countries will simulate long-range flights and strikes against distant targets, enhancing readiness for combat scenarios with Iran. In recent years, the Israel Defense Forces and US Central Command have already conducted several joint exercises, practicing strikes against Iran.
In July this year, President Joe Biden and Prime Minister Yair Lapid signed a joint declaration on the US-Israeli strategic partnership, also known as the Jerusalem Declaration. It emphasizes the US commitment “never to allow Iran to acquire a nuclear weapon, and that it is prepared to use all elements of its national power to ensure that.” Subsequent joint exercises were the subject of meetings in Washington between IDF Chief of Staff Lieutenant General Aviv Kochavi and US officials, including Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Mark Milley and CENTCOM Commander General Michael Kurilla.
Some NIS 3.5 billion ($1 billion) has been allocated from the IDF’s NIS 58 billion ($17 billion) defense budget for military activities next year related to alleged strikes on Iran. Outgoing Minister of Defense Benny Gantz had earlier warned newly appointed Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to “consider issue very carefully” before launching a strike on Iran. “Israel has the ability to act in Iran. We have the readiness, development capabilities, and long-term plans we are managing. We need to prepare for this possibility, and we will also need to consider this issue very carefully before carrying it out,” he said.
All of the above quite clearly supports the argument that it is Israel that is the main source of Western hostility and maneuvering against Iran and is using these tensions to carry out attacks in Lebanon, Syria, Iraq.
Color revolutions are usually the target of aggressive campaigns by the West, and hybrid wars are smoke and fire to create cover and distractions to create conditions, chaos and tensions to launch these color revolutions. Hybrid wars include the conflict the US has created in Iraq between various tribes and religious sects, and in Libya and Syria, where foreign mercenaries from Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Israel and Turkey were hired, funded and trained by the CIA and Pentagon under General Lloyd Austin, now Secretary of Defense. The aim of these operations was to create tension, chaos, conflict and enmity between peoples in the regions so that natural wealth could be stolen. Suffice it to look at the history of these operations over the past 20 years: Afghanistan, Iraq, Somalia, Libya, Syria, Lebanon, Yemen. And now Ukraine and Iran of course represent the next target of this Western program of color revolutions, and therefore an international coalition is needed to counter such hostile actions.
Iranian tanker formerly impounded by Greece docks in Syria
The Cradle | December 3, 2022
The Lana, an Iranian crude oil tanker impounded by Greece and whose contents were illegally seized by the US earlier this year, delivered an estimated 700,000 barrels of oil to the Syrian port of Baniyas on 2 December, Reuters reported, citing a satellite tracking agency.
The oil delivery marks the end of a period of uncertainty regarding the fate of the shipment onboard the Lana tanker.
Greece’s impounding of the ship and the US seizure of its oil cargo took place in May of this year and was immediately condemned by Iranian authorities as an illegal act of ‘maritime piracy.’ In response, Iran seized two Greek tankers that same month, retaliating to the coordinated theft of its oil by Greece and the US. Tehran eventually released the Greek tankers on 16 November.
While part of the oil cargo was initially meant to be diverted to the US by the Ice Energy ship chartered by Washington, a Greek court ruled to return the oil to Iran in June.
The oil delivery to Syria comes as the country is facing severe fuel shortages due to the US occupation and looting of its oil fields. The oil looted by the US is smuggled out of Syria in massive quantities.
Lately, Turkish bombardments against the country’s energy facilities have also exacerbated the crisis.
According to data from the US-based United Against a Nuclear Iran lobby group, Syria received around 1.39 million barrels of oil from Iran in November alone. These oil shipments alleviate Syria’s crisis and improve Iran’s standing as an energy exporter – a role that it has been working hard to expand despite the sanctions imposed by Washington.
As the west fights to survive the man-made energy crisis and the ramifications of the Ukraine war, Iran has been attempting to build a strong economy based on mutual cooperation aimed at circumventing the sanctions against it.
Israel and US hold drills targeted at Iran
RT | December 2, 2022
The Israeli military has conducted joint training operations with the United States, holding a series of air drills to simulate strikes on Iran just days after West Jerusalem pressed US officials to accelerate their “operational plans” against Tehran.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) detailed the drills in a statement on Wednesday, saying they practiced “various scenarios in the face of regional threats” while singling out the Islamic Republic by name.
“These exercises are a key component of our two militaries’ increasing strategic cooperation in response to shared concerns in the Middle East, particularly those posed by Iran,” the IDF said.
Four Israeli F-35 fighter jets and four American F-15s took part in the war games, which “simulated a long-range operational scenario and long-distance flights,” the IDF added, noting that a US KC-135 tanker aircraft also refueled a number of Israeli F-16s during the exercise.
The drills follow a visit to the US capital last month by IDF Chief of Staff Aviv Kochavi, who called on American officials to develop new “operational plans” to take on the Iranian military. The two sides also discussed their “commitment to ensuring that Iran never acquires a nuclear weapon,” despite Tehran’s repeated insistence that it is not pursuing the bomb.
Israel has carried out a number of drills specifically targeting Tehran in recent months, including an exercise over the Mediterranean Sea earlier this year which reportedly simulated strikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities. Another similar drill focused on nuclear sites was also conducted last June, involving more than 100 aircraft which practiced long-distance strikes.
While this week’s war games saw midair refueling operations with an American tanker, the Jerusalem Post previously reported that Israel had developed capabilities allowing it to reach Iran without the need to refuel along the way. The outlet suggested the air force had upgraded its US-made F-35 jets to accomplish that feat, but offered few details on the supposed improvements.
Russian Foreign Ministry: No Evidence That Tehran Wants to Develop Nuclear Weapons
Samizdat – 30.11.2022
MOSCOW – There is no evidence that Tehran intends to develop nuclear weapons, reviewing its participation in the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), Vladimir Yermakov, director of the Russian Foreign Ministry’s Non-Proliferation and Arms Control Department, said in an interview with Sputnik.
“Iran has been and remains a conscientious participant in the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons. The conclusion of the JCPOA in 2015 helped to finally and irrevocably remove all the questions that the [International Atomic Energy Agency] had to Tehran at that time.”
“After that, for several years Iran remained the most verified state among agency members. No deviations from its obligations were identified,” Yermakov said. “There is no evidence that would indicate Tehran’s intention to ever reconsider its participation in the NPT and start developing a nuclear explosive device.”
Yermakov’s remarks come as the US undertakes joint military drills with Israel, complete with fighter jet simulations on strikes against Iran’s nuclear program infrastructure. Earlier announcements detailed the drills would be held in the Mediterranean Sea starting November 29, and lasting through December 1.
At the time, Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz stressed that the drills were needed in order for Israel to “prepare” its service members for any “possibility.”
Days before the drills kicked off, US media reported that Tehran was inching toward achieving a weapons-grade enrichment, paving the way for Iran to acquire the technology to assemble nuclear weapons.
However, it’s worth noting that Iran has repeatedly indicated it has no intention to create nuclear arms; in fact, Iranian leadership imposed a fatwa in 2003 on the production or usage of any form of nuclear weapons.
Tension between Iran, Israel and the US has remained high for years. Under the Trump administration, however, escalations were at near-boiling after the US withdrew from the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, reimposed past sanctions and continued on a “maximum pressure” campaign against Tehran.
Talks to restore the agreement under the Biden White House have remained stalled for months. Iran earlier dispatched a “constructive” response to Washington’s proposals but was ultimately shut down by administration officials who deemed the messages “not constructive.”
Israel pushes US on military action against Iran
RT | November 23, 2022
Israel Defense Forces (IDF) Chief of Staff Aviv Kochavi has called on the United States to develop new “operational plans” to take on the Iranian military, urging top US defense and intelligence officials to “accelerate” joint efforts to counter the Islamic Republic.
Kochavi held a series of meetings with Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Mark Milley, National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan and CIA Director William Burns, the IDF said in a press release on Tuesday, noting that he discussed the “Iranian threat” with each of the officials he spoke with since landing in the US on Sunday morning.
“We are at a critical point in time which requires the acceleration of the operational plans and the cooperation against Iran and its proxies in the region,” Kochavi said after the meetings. “On the one hand, Iran is under many economic, military and internal pressures, and on the other hand continues to advance the nuclear project.”
During his sit-down with General Milley, the two officials discussed “strengthening cooperation between the [US and Israeli] armies against threats in the region, chief among them the Iranian nuclear threat,” according to the IDF. Sullivan, too, said the White House would carry out its pledge to “prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons.”
While Israel has offered little evidence supporting the existence of an Iranian nuclear weapons program, officials have claimed for decades that Tehran is on the cusp of developing its own bomb. The Islamic Republic has denied any plans to build nuclear weapons – with Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei issuing a fatwa (religious decree) against all weapons of mass destruction in 2003 – and passed numerous inspections by the UN’s nuclear watchdog under a major deal signed with world powers in 2015.
However, after Washington unilaterally withdrew from the nuclear deal under President Donald Trump, Tehran has steadily scaled back its compliance, boosting its enrichment of uranium and building new advanced centrifuges while demanding an end to US sanctions. Iran has nonetheless insisted that such steps do not indicate it is seeking a nuclear weapon, despite continued allegations from the United States and Israel.
IAEA primary instrument of pre-aggression, sets scene for US, Israeli unilateral actions: Analyst
Press TV – November 22, 2022
works before a news conference attended by IAEA Director Rafael Grossi during an IAEA Board of Governors meeting in Vienna, Austria, September 13, 2021. (Photo by Reuters)
A political analyst has described the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) as a primary “instrument of pre-aggression” which paves the way for Israel and the US to take unilateral actions against Iran.
“The IAEA has become a primary instrument of pre-aggression. In other words, they create a scenario, they make the false charges, they do not prove the charges, and then they use the false unproven charges, to stoke the fires of aggression against you,” John Bosnitch told Press TV on Monday while commenting on recent tensions between Iran and the IAEA following a resolution passed by the UN nuclear body’s Board of Governors.
The politically motivated draft resolution, ratified on Thursday, has criticized Iran for what it called a lack of cooperation with the agency. It was put forward by the United States, Britain, France, and Germany, in continuation of their political pressures on Iran.
Bosnitch added that the “trend” that has been going on for years against Iran is rooted in the Israeli lobby and its influence on the US government and American personnel inside the IAEA.
“It looks like yet another provocation to create false grounds for aggressive action against Iran,” he said.
The political analyst further pointed to the “invented” excuses and provocations against Iran, saying that the US uses the IAEA as a tool “to make it a little bit more believable to those naive people around the world who still hold trust in such institutions.”
Once the fires of aggression are lit, Bosnitch said, Israel and the US can act unilaterally and illegally based on the so-called reports by the IAEA.
“And that is the formula for aggression. And I have to say that Iran, as I’ve said, through all discussions on this topic, must be ready for the worst,” he cautioned.
‘IAEA a spying organization’
Bosnitch also called the IAEA a “spying organization” that only spies on enemies of the United States and Israel.
In order to ease concerns about its nuclear program, Iran has agreed to install surveillance cameras in its nuclear facilities and has provided the IAEA with physical monitoring and satellite images. According to Bosnitch, however, “nothing works because the lies perpetrated by the lying mainstream media are bigger to the common person’s eye than the truth.”
Head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran Mohammad Eslami said on Sunday that the Islamic Republic will give a “firm response” to the IAEA Board of Governors’ anti-Iran resolution.
“The nuclear programs of the Islamic Republic of Iran are moving forward according to the strategic action plan of the parliament, and the issuance of multiple resolutions against Iran will not cause any disruption in the progress of these programs,” the AEOI chief added.
According to a report published on Tuesday, Iran has started enriching uranium to the purity level of 60% at its Fordow nuclear facility. The country has also installed two new IR2M and IR4 cascades at the Natanz and Fordow facilities.
The report added that Iran has fitted and launched new centrifuges at two empty halls in Fordow and Natanz nuclear sites and replaced IR1 centrifuges at Fordow with IR6 which will increase enrichment at the site by 10 times.
Tehran informed the IAEA of that decision via a letter. It described the move as a strong message to the recent anti-Iran resolution passed by the IAEA’s Board of Governors.
‘US provoking protests in Iran’
Elsewhere in his remarks, Bosnitch mentioned the recent violent riots across Iran, warning that US agents are working inside Iran “right now” to provoke protests.
“Whatever grievance there might have been, it has been amplified by the US State Department and by the CIA inside your country already.”
He added that the US is not only attacking Iran on the IAEA side but also organizing protest expansion inside the country.
“They definitely try new tactics, and the only protection against American militarism and unilateralism is to tie up with other countries that are threatened by the same thing,” he concluded.
Riots have broken out in Iran since 22-year-old woman Mahsa Amini died in hospital on September 16, three days after she collapsed in a police station. An investigation has attributed Amini’s death to her medical condition, dismissing allegations that she was beaten by police forces.
In the last two months, using the protests as a cover, rioters, and thugs — many of whom were later found to have links with foreign parties — went on a rampage, engaging in savage attacks on security officers, vandalism, desecration of sanctities, and false-flag killings of civilians to incriminate the Iranian police.
Interview with US Ambassador Peter Ford
Free West Media | November 18, 2022
Steven Sahiounie of MidEastDiscourse interviewed Ambassador Peter Ford to hear his expert analysis of important issues developing in the region.
Israel, Lebanon, Syria and Turkey are neighbors in an increasingly unstable Middle East, in which Saudi Arabia plays a key role.
The US has meddled in the Middle East for decades and is responsible for the destruction of several countries who have not recovered from failed American policies.
Peter Ford served as the British ambassador to Bahrain from 1999 to 2003 and Syria from 2003 to 2006, and is currently the London-based Co-Chairman of the British Syrian Society. He is an Arabist with long established expertise in the Middle East.
Benjamin Netanyahu and his allies recently came back to power in “Israel”. In your opinion what does this mean for the Palestinians?
It makes no difference. Those who believe that one Israeli government is different from another are fools. Every Israeli government supports the occupation and practices repression. Any differences are purely optical.
That said, the participation of overt racists in Netanyahu’s government increases the chances that the US will distance itself from Israel in matters of secondary importance.
Lebanon is in the midst of a financial and social collapse. In your opinion, will the Israeli regime take advantage of the crisis and attack Lebanon?
Israel is already viciously attacking Lebanon – economically. The Israeli/US strategy is to avoid war, which they would lose, but instead to create enough suffering in Lebanon to make the Lebanese people turn against Hezbollah. In particular, they are trying to block oil reaching Lebanon from Iran. This is similar to their strategy towards Syria.
The UN Special Rapporteur has called for the end of sanctions on Syria because of the continuing suffering. Do you think there is any hope in removing the sanctions which are crippling the daily life of Syrians?
Sadly I see no prospect of sanctions on Syria being lifted or eased in the foreseeable future. It costs the US nothing to apply them and the US against all evidence persists in believing that sanctions weaken popular support for the Syrian government, or pretending to believe they weaken the government simply because it would be embarrassing to lift them. Lifting sanctions would look like an admission of failure and a concession to Russia and Iran.
Sanctions on Syria cannot be analyzed without taking the geopolitical situation into account. To some degree Syria is paying part of the price for US mishandling of its relations with Russia and Iran.
Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has not bowed down to pressure by US President Joe Biden. In your opinion, what will be the cost that Saudi Arabia has to pay?
The cost will be zero. On the contrary, Saudi defiance of the US over oil prices shows that the balance of power between the two has shifted and that the US is a paper tiger where Saudi Arabia is concerned. Let us not forget that the US arms industry has become highly dependent on sales to the Gulf, and the US has invested heavily in keeping Saudi Arabia away from rapprochement with Iran. Its leverage is minimal. It was different when MBS was an international pariah over Khashoggi, but time has done its work of prompting amnesia if not forgiveness. I expect to see more Saudi defiance of the US.
For the past few months, we have been hearing reports from the Turkish side of overtures at repairing the relationship between Turkey and Syria. In your opinion, will this have an effect on ending terrorist control in Idlib?
I am more optimistic about Idlib today than I have been for ages. Time is also doing its work here – demonstrating to the Turks that their Syria policy has been a total failure. That policy has failed to remove the Syrian government, failed to establish stability on Turkey’s border and failed to create conditions for the return of Syrian refugees. The burden of those refugees is felt especially acutely with the approach of presidential elections in Turkey. Whether Erdogan is serious about rapprochement with Syria remains however to be seen.
Steven Sahiounie is a two-time award-winning journalist
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Book Review
The Greatest Threat to World Peace? A Review of Daniele Ganser’s ‘USA: The Ruthless Empire’
Review by Marilyn Langlois | November 10, 2023
If you regard the United States as perhaps flawed but overall a force for good in the world . . .
If you scoff at the notion that the US, a republic founded on principles of freedom and democracy, has morphed into a world empire, perpetrating assassinations, coups d’état, acts of terror and illegal warfare . . .
If you want to promote peace but haven’t yet explored deceptive events that precipitate US warmongering . . .
. . . here is a volume that will clear the air and paint an honest picture of the significant, not-so-rosy impact US foreign policy and actions have had in the world around us.
USA: The Ruthless Empire, by Swiss historian and peace researcher Daniele Ganser, is the newly published English language translation of his book Imperium USA, originally written in German and published in 2020. Here is a summary of key points — including some lesser-known ones — along with remedies for a more peaceful future, that are covered in the book. … continue
Blog Roll
Aletho News- Argentina’s Javier Milei sells out his country for Israel
- Putting Nukes in Finland Won’t Make Country Safer, Finnish Politician Cautions
- Ukrainian drone strike kills worker at Europe’s largest nuclear power plant
- What the West Hides About Soviet Role in De-Colonization
- Villains of Judea: Douglas Feith
- US pension fund invests hundreds of millions in weapons firms supplying Israel
- US bill to grant Americans serving in Israeli army same rights as US troops
- What a president, a movie star, a congressman, and a cell phone all dared to say
- ‘An entire nation is being humiliated by the Iranian leadership’: Merz
- Pakistan Throws Open Its Gates for Iran’s Transit Trade to Third Countries
- If Americans Knew
- Palestinians in Gaza Want to Rebuild Food Systems. Israel Isn’t Letting Them.
- Under Trump, Green Card Seekers Face New Scrutiny for Views on Israel
- Sheep Theft Sent Shockwaves Through a Palestinian Village. Then, a 12-year-old Boy Was Shot Dead
- Trump alum helps Israel mount AI influence campaign
- Dispatches From Catastrophe
- Despite Denials, AIPAC Is Now Funding Campaign of Ala Stanford In Philadelphia
- Israel’s neighbors are irate about its treatment of religious sites
- Israel escalates in Gaza: killing, torture, hunger – Daily Update
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- European Institute For Climate And Energy: “Climate Debate is Seldom About Science”
- New Study: The Climate May Be 5 Times More Sensitive To Solar Forcing Than Commonly Assumed
- EV Industry Reached $70 Billion In Losses In 2024 Due To Delusional Green Ideologies
- Reality Check: Maldives Have Actually Grown In Size Or Remained Stable Over Recent Decades
- Abrupt Climate Change Also Occurred NATURALLY In The Past …25 Times During Last Ice Age
- Cave Discovery Reveals Today’s Desert Climates Were Recently Far Warmer, Wetter, Teeming With Life
- German Expert: Heat Dome Led To Record Temps In Western USA…Warmer In 1934, 1936
- New Study: No Linear Warming Or Glacier Retreat Along Northern Antarctic Peninsula Since 1980s
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