It seems to me that the US could benefit greatly from removing as many sanctions as possible from Iran unilaterally. This move would reduce tensions within Iran and provide an incentive for the Raeisi government to negotiate the JCPOA and other issues.
After the debacle of the Afghan withdrawal, Biden has already taken a severe political hit and may be unwilling to risk another, but to be honest, the Biden regime is already over. He could not win re-election even if he were to try and Kamala Harris is obviously too inept a politician to win. The mid-term elections will probably result in Republican control of Congress. Biden should abandon attempts to do the politically expedient and work toward a legacy as the President who ended our forever wars. That goal is within his grasp. Remove all sanctions on all nations not required by law. Remove US troops from Iraq and Syria. Fire Blinken and hire a Secretary of State who is competent and non-interventionist, then restore friendly relations with Russia and China as well as Iran.
Those steps would be tremendously popular with the American people even though the Blob and the corporate media would be apoplectic. It might be the only way to salvage not only his own credibility but the future of the Democratic Party.
I find Mr. Sahimi's commentary interesting. He says "The economy is in terrible condition, caused by chronic corruption, mismanagement, and, most important, the crushing sanctions the United States" Most of Iran's economic problems have to do with the illegal US sanctions. Most every country on the planet has corruption and mismanagement. Just take one look at Donnie Murdo's regime. Iran has a long list of grievances against the US starting with our subversion of the country even while our buddy Shah-n-shahi Mohammend Reza Pahlavi the Only was running the show. The joke in the Kayhan at the time was that if you lifted the beard of a mullah, it would be stamped CIA. And, of course, we gave our late, unlamented buddy Saddam Hussein the chemistry he needed to create actual WMDs in the form of poison gas which slaughtered thousands of Iranians. Then we shot down the Iran Air flight while we were attacking Iraq for invading Kuwait and did nothing to compensate Iran or the dead passengers for decades. At the same time we shot up a bunch of Iranian navy vessels presumably because they were in the Persian gulf. Shia Iran wasn't involved with Iraq's attack on Kuwait. Blatant violation of international law but who holds the US to account for anything?
I hope that the Raeisi government refuses to negotiate the JCPOA until the US veritably complies with the terms of the agreement. The US was not complying with it even in the short period before Donnie Murdo unilaterally withdrew from it. The US should not be rewarded for breaking its word by being able to rework the agreement while Iran is under the pressure of our sanctions. The good news, such as it is, is that my Iranian friends (specifically my landlord's son and uncle) always told me that Iranians would never revolt on an empty stomach, only on a full one. The Iranians will never cave into American pressure.
There are three problems here. One, the US is hellbent of global hegemony and is trying to bend all nations to its will if they have anything that the US wants like Iranian and Venezuelan oil, Bolivian lithium, and a variety of minerals from Afghanistan. Two, the US wants to make Iran crawl back to the US and beg our forgiveness for kicking us out of Iran. That's not gonna happen either. And Three, for reasons that I can only ascribe to money, the US wants to make Israel our satrap in the Middle East. Essentially turning it into the local hegemon. The Israelis are a viscous junkyard dog but they aren't big enough to push the Middle East around.
Reminder: Iran's economy grew by 3.5% in the last 2 quarters.
Iranians are upset about high prices but they lack nothing. The country is industrialized and has advanced in its agriculture.
I am afraid we are going to wake up one day and realize what Iran is, the region's lone superpower, much like we woke up to see Afghanistan collapse after 20 years of lies.
Better informed discussions lead to better understanding and make the world less costly for America's interventions.
Sahimi has hated Iran for decades. There is nothing new in this post you can't get from network television.
During the time of COVID, French turnout was 22% just a few weeks after Iran's elections. One should conclude Iran's turnout was extraordinarily high for its time, considering the reformists were humiliated in the past 8 years and their supporters sat home.
It seems to me that the US could benefit greatly from removing as many sanctions as possible from Iran unilaterally. This move would reduce tensions within Iran and provide an incentive for the Raeisi government to negotiate the JCPOA and other issues.
After the debacle of the Afghan withdrawal, Biden has already taken a severe political hit and may be unwilling to risk another, but to be honest, the Biden regime is already over. He could not win re-election even if he were to try and Kamala Harris is obviously too inept a politician to win. The mid-term elections will probably result in Republican control of Congress. Biden should abandon attempts to do the politically expedient and work toward a legacy as the President who ended our forever wars. That goal is within his grasp. Remove all sanctions on all nations not required by law. Remove US troops from Iraq and Syria. Fire Blinken and hire a Secretary of State who is competent and non-interventionist, then restore friendly relations with Russia and China as well as Iran.
Those steps would be tremendously popular with the American people even though the Blob and the corporate media would be apoplectic. It might be the only way to salvage not only his own credibility but the future of the Democratic Party.
I find Mr. Sahimi's commentary interesting. He says "The economy is in terrible condition, caused by chronic corruption, mismanagement, and, most important, the crushing sanctions the United States" Most of Iran's economic problems have to do with the illegal US sanctions. Most every country on the planet has corruption and mismanagement. Just take one look at Donnie Murdo's regime. Iran has a long list of grievances against the US starting with our subversion of the country even while our buddy Shah-n-shahi Mohammend Reza Pahlavi the Only was running the show. The joke in the Kayhan at the time was that if you lifted the beard of a mullah, it would be stamped CIA. And, of course, we gave our late, unlamented buddy Saddam Hussein the chemistry he needed to create actual WMDs in the form of poison gas which slaughtered thousands of Iranians. Then we shot down the Iran Air flight while we were attacking Iraq for invading Kuwait and did nothing to compensate Iran or the dead passengers for decades. At the same time we shot up a bunch of Iranian navy vessels presumably because they were in the Persian gulf. Shia Iran wasn't involved with Iraq's attack on Kuwait. Blatant violation of international law but who holds the US to account for anything?
I hope that the Raeisi government refuses to negotiate the JCPOA until the US veritably complies with the terms of the agreement. The US was not complying with it even in the short period before Donnie Murdo unilaterally withdrew from it. The US should not be rewarded for breaking its word by being able to rework the agreement while Iran is under the pressure of our sanctions. The good news, such as it is, is that my Iranian friends (specifically my landlord's son and uncle) always told me that Iranians would never revolt on an empty stomach, only on a full one. The Iranians will never cave into American pressure.
There are three problems here. One, the US is hellbent of global hegemony and is trying to bend all nations to its will if they have anything that the US wants like Iranian and Venezuelan oil, Bolivian lithium, and a variety of minerals from Afghanistan. Two, the US wants to make Iran crawl back to the US and beg our forgiveness for kicking us out of Iran. That's not gonna happen either. And Three, for reasons that I can only ascribe to money, the US wants to make Israel our satrap in the Middle East. Essentially turning it into the local hegemon. The Israelis are a viscous junkyard dog but they aren't big enough to push the Middle East around.
Reminder: Iran's economy grew by 3.5% in the last 2 quarters.
Iranians are upset about high prices but they lack nothing. The country is industrialized and has advanced in its agriculture.
I am afraid we are going to wake up one day and realize what Iran is, the region's lone superpower, much like we woke up to see Afghanistan collapse after 20 years of lies.
Better informed discussions lead to better understanding and make the world less costly for America's interventions.
Sahimi has hated Iran for decades. There is nothing new in this post you can't get from network television.
During the time of COVID, French turnout was 22% just a few weeks after Iran's elections. One should conclude Iran's turnout was extraordinarily high for its time, considering the reformists were humiliated in the past 8 years and their supporters sat home.