U.S. President Donald Trump arrives to board Air Force One to return to Washington at the conclusion on their holiday vacation, from Palm Beach International Airport in West Palm Beach, Florida, Jan. 1, 2018.
VOA: Amid Iran Protests, Trump Faces Decision on Sanctions
WASHINGTON — U.S. President Donald Trump, who has been quick and forceful in his support for Iranian anti-government protests, will have a chance later this month to further step up pressure on Tehran.
In mid-January, Trump faces another series of congressionally mandated deadlines to certify whether Iran is complying with the terms of the nuclear agreement between Iran and six world powers.
Many Iran watchers say Trump may use the deadlines to reimpose or enact new sanctions in an attempt to deliver a blow to Iran's government at a moment of vulnerability.
Andrew Peek, the U.S. deputy assistant secretary of state for Iran and Iraq, told VOA further sanctions are possible against Iranian government elements that crack down on protesters.
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WNU Editor: I think the decision to impose additional sanctions on Iran was made before the current unrest has gripped Iran. The difference is that if the Iranian regime cracks down hard as it is expected, there will little if any international objections to the U.S. move.
3 comments:
I would expect there to be numerous international objections to additional US sanctions. Already the Russians have warned against any interference in Iranian affairs. I would expect others to follow suit.
While I could be have missed it, it seems most of the world has been relatively quite on this. This is to be expected. Much of the world including "western" countries have lucrative business deals with Iran. In the interests of preserving these deals and in stability, they are likely to side with the Iranian government.
This does not mean don't impose additional sanctions if it is the right thing to do and such a move advances American interests in some way but the idea that there is going to be little if any international objections to the US imposing such sanctions I don't think is accurate. Even if sanctions are imposed, they seldom work in today's environment as they are easily circumvented. Also, such sanctions will likely undermine the role of the US dollar as world reserve currency hastening its end in this role. As stated, this does not mean don't impose sanctions but US leaders including DJT need to understand that such a move is substantially risky and is going to alienate much of the world who has business dealings with Iran that they are going to fight to keep.
We might want to ask ourselves are the protests a false flag on the part of Iranian leaders? Set up a protest movement you control, conveniently find American "involvement," stoke anti-Americanism because of this "meddling," and use this a pretext for an attack on America. It seems American leaders especially POTUS are jumping into this to quickly without thinking through the ramifications of this.
Wasn't Drumph the NO regime change,NO human rights canidate?
I don't recall Trump specifically being against human rights or specifically saying he was against regime change in all circumstances. I do recall that he advocated for less foreign involvement and stating that others needed to bear a greater load for the defense/military needs. I believe this was a large factor in what got him elected. Americans understand that it is both impossible for us and unethical for anyone to expect us to bear the huge burden we are currently expected to bear. Sadly I think POTUS may have lost his to a large extent in this area.
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