The US and the EU are determined to maintain existing economic sanctions on Iran and are prepared to impose additional ones if the two sides could not come to an agreement on Iran’s nuclear program, a senior US official said today.
"We and our allies are determined to maintain and even increase pressure," said Gary Samore, the White House coordinator for arms control. "We need to send the message to Iran that sanctions will only increase if Iran avoids serious negotiations and will not be lifted until our concerns are fully addressed" [AP, 10 December].
Samore made his comments during a conference on “Countering the Iranian Threat” hosted by the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies. The comments came three days after the two sides resumed their talks in Geneva, but no serious agreements came out of those talks. Iran and the major powers are to resume their talks in January in Instanbul.
8 comments:
Let's think rationally for a moment, the US is a de-industrialized wasteland with over 60 million on foodstamps, unemployed and losing homes. What kind of "sanctions" can such a bankrupt nation bogged down in at least 2 major lost wars and being subjected to a death by thousand cuts in the region "impose on Iran"?
It is this sort of nonsense that has turned the US into a joke along with its traditional lackeys like the bankrupt UK where students, pensioners and the unemployed unwashed masses are rioting on the streets and pelting the free-loading public welfare "royals" with rotten eggs and stones.
Iran has been under "sanctions" for over 33 years and despite these impotent measures, it has the fastest growing and most diversified industrialized economy in the region. In real terms Iran's PPP nominal GDP accounting for the defence related and "grey" Sepah run operations now accounts for the world 14th largest and poised to be in the TOP TEN by 2020 as the west continues to implode and China becomes the only MEGA-POWER and a close ally of Iran.
So what sanctions and on WHOM?
Anon,
It is an inverted form of sanctions, isn't it.
Think of all the lost business the US has suffered in not doing business with the Islamic Republic of Iran. It's an awful lot.
Then think how sanctions have decoupled to an extent Iran from the ravages of the global economy. How it has resisted being subjected to global corporatocracy.
I traveled the world back in 1975. I drove through Western Europe and behind the so-called Iron Curtain. I saw Soviet states and I saw Turkey in an Ottoman type military dictatorship. Today, making the same trip, I see mostly the same everywhere: plate glass and concrete. It all looks the same; the effects of globalization.
But not lil' ol' Iran! Partly due to sanctions, Iran more than elsewhere retains its unique old-world charms. And its progress is on more or less its own terms. Quite remarkable, really.
You are absolutley correct in your assessment. US is doing more damage to itself with Iranophobia then to Iran's increasingly self-reliant economy. Recently Boeing aircraft alone estimated that it has lost over $25 BILLION business to Iran's rapidly growing civil aviation sector alone since 1979 due to replacement losses and missed spare parts sales.
Iran's 80 million population and over 1.64 million sq kms landmass is a huge market from aviation to land infrastructure. The US companies are losing out to China, Japan, Korea and even Europeans. On a recent highway infrastructure project I noticed that all the trucks, road graders, rollers and earth moving machines were Komatsu, Hino, Mitsubishi etc and also Chinese and Korean makes and nothing from the west. Similar situation in all industrial projects with the exception of Iran's rapidly growing auto industry which has French Peugot joint ventures. Conservative business estimates range from $150 bilion to $200 billion loss to western companies due to these idiotic sanctions. The worst losers are the US and UK which are already suffering huge domestic economic meltdowns and unemployment. In reality the west needs Iranian economic help more than Iran needs the west.
To make up the loss the US and UK have been forcing third-rate downgraded weapons systems upon the Arabs, particularly the corrupt Saudis and UAE puppets who are barely out of the camel age and hardly in a position to master 21st century technology.
Another interesting sector to watch is the growing Iranian aviation and space industry and its linkage with China's rapidly growing civil aviation manufacturing including RJ (Regional Jets) at a fraction of the western costs. China has also been very generous with technology transfer and engineering exchanges. Iran should be producing commercial jets within a decade.
Anyway, you have summed it up quite well. US is heading for a accelerated Soviet style collapse. Even its own historians predict a swift and rapid US meltdown as its insane warmongering consumes it to the rotten core. In the western world US and UK are the basketcases where even human life-span is decreasing due to lack of medical care and endless lost wars that are now consuming $11 billion a day if all the externalities are added.
The global power shift is in geometric progression as Asia rises and Iran is now exporting to over 160 nations and has strong partnerships with at least 50 major nations, including China,Turkey, India and Brazil (all rising stars of the 21st century).
US is only fooling itself if it thinks it can harm Iran. Even the two lonely Zionist part-time Mossad ladies at the Debka apartment rumor mill in Tel-Aviv now acknowledge that Iran's rise is unstopable.LOL.
Out of sight, the last shots of a retreating army - the last laugh is on them!
There is noting that any sanction can do to effect Iran.
USA wants to forbid the Europeans and the rest to do business so as to do it themselves,
US firms have never sold more of their products in Iran than the last 2 years.
Dariush London
Iran will never be the country it could be because of it's revulsion towards Israel, but this goes for any country in the world not just Iran. Unfortunately, your hatred makes you delusional.
The main reasons the US has had success over the past 200 years is because of it's Judeo Christian beliefs along with its ally with Israel, both are being crucified on a daily basis by God hating liberals, some of them jews.
The American people are disgusted with our muslim socialist in the White House and the direction this president is taking them. The American people will rise. Hopefully it won't be too late.
Genesis 12:3 when the God of the universe talks about the children of Israel...
"I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you."
Anonymous @ 2010 2:03 AM
You are as delusional as our Mullas. May your God of supernaturalism bless you and our God of reason and rationality prevail.
The God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob will win in the end.
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