WILL EUROPE THROW A “LIFELINE” TO IRAN?

Anastasiia Zhukova

On November 5, the “most powerful”, according to Donald Trump, United States sanctions against the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) came into force. It affected 700 individuals and legal entities, includThe weakening of Iran from within should undermine its influence on the external contour - in Yemen, Syria and Lebanon, which is sought not only by the United States, but also by their regional allies - Israel and Saudi Arabia. Washington put three conditions for the lifting of sanctions: Iran must abandon nuclear weapons, the development of ballistic missiles and influence in the Middle East. The first condition of the Islamic Republic of Iran is already fulfilled within the framework of the JCPOA, and the IAEA experts maintain constant control over Iranian facilities. All participants in the "nuclear deal", except for the States, confirm Tehran’s commitment to the terms of the agreement.ing the country's central bank and the Iranian Atomic Energy Organization, and is directed mainly against oil exports, the banking sector and the shipping industry of Iran.

This is the second package of measures associated with the release of Donald Trump from the “nuclear deal”. In August, the United States imposed restrictions on trade in gold and other metals, Iran's auto and airline industries, as well as the national currency, the rial.

Washington's goal is simple - to overthrow the Iranian regime. A ban on the supply of oil, the volume of which has already been reduced by 1 million barrels per day, should worsen the welfare of ordinary Iranians and cause popular unrest. Although, apparently, the State Department does not take into account that as a result of strikes and economic meetings, the positions of conservative clerics, who have criticized the signing of the Joint Comprehensive Action Plan (JCPOA) with the six international mediators - the United States, France, Germany, Britain, China and Russia - will increase .

The weakening of Iran from within should undermine its influence on the external contour - in Yemen, Syria and Lebanon, which is sought not only by the United States, but also by their regional allies - Israel and Saudi Arabia. Washington put three conditions for the lifting of sanctions: Iran must abandon nuclear weapons, the development of ballistic missiles and influence in the Middle East. The first condition of the Islamic Republic of Iran is already fulfilled within the framework of the JCPOA, and the IAEA experts maintain constant control over Iranian facilities. All participants in the "nuclear deal", except for the States, confirm Tehran’s commitment to the terms of the agreement.

The other two points - the rejection of influence in the region and the development of missiles - are new, invented in the cabinets of the White House, conditions that are not related to SVPD. Tehran will never go for their execution. For he understands that further from him will require even greater concessions. For example, the limitations of conventional weapons.

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani has already announced that he will fight with American restrictions.

Will Iran succeed in doing this? The answer to this question depends not only on the mobilization resources of the Iranian economy and the political strength of the local regime. Tehran needs political and economic support from outside. China and the EU as the first and second trade partners of Iran have already announced that they will continue to do business with this Middle Eastern country.

On November 5, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo presented a list of eight countries that are temporarily being removed from US sanctions imposed on Iran. It includes China, India, Italy, Greece, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan and Turkey.

Given that China is already used to trading under sanctions, and now received relief from Washington, the position of the European Union will largely influence the well-being of the Iranian economy. EU trade with Iran has tripled since the lifting of sanctions in 2016, reaching $ 20 billion. More from China alone - $ 30 billion. Europeans have hopes not only in oil imports, but also in the development of gas fields, construction and infrastructure of Iran. Large TNK - Total, Peugeot, Deutsche Telekom, Deutsche Bahn and Daimler - after the US withdrawal from the JCPOA left the Iranian market.

On the eve of the introduction of sanctions Pompeo said that Europeans will have to choose with whom to do business - the United States or Iran, recalling that most European companies have already left Iran. Brussels previously announced the creation of a special mechanism that will bypass the dollar operations for the purchase of Iranian oil. Russia will participate in it, ready to play the role of a mediator. Even earlier, the EU promised compensation to those companies that would suffer losses due to the extraterritorial effect of the US sanctions.

Will Europe be able to continue business with Iran despite Washington? Here the question is not only about the protection of European investment, but about the independence of the EU. And no one has an answer to it yet.

Trump’s ‘Iran sanctions’ bluster boomerangs

By Syed Zafar Mehdi

TEHRAN - U.S. President Donald Trump’s lame attempts at projecting himself as a formidable world leader continue to boomerang. This week, he released a meme on his official Twitter handle, intended to replicate the uber-popular book series/TV show Games of Thrones (GOT) message, warning Iranians that the sanctions were coming.

The image that read ‘Sanctions Are Coming’ – a reference to GOT saying ‘Winter Is Coming’ with imagery and typeface similar to the popular show was widely shared over social media with messages mocking the megalomaniac president and the wisdom behind posting such a ridiculous meme.

After the tweet, HBO issued a statement, catching Trump off guard. “We are not aware of this messaging and would prefer our trademark not be misappropriated for political purposes,” the statement read.  Trump knew he had miscalculated again but there was no way for damage control. It was followed by heaps of scorn and sarcasm directed at the U.S. president, who seems to have redefined buffoonery and foolhardiness.

Pertinently, the author of Game of Thrones series – George R. R. Martin – had once used his own creation to mock at the U.S. President, comparing him with King Joffrey, an iniquitous child who killed for fun and adopted extremely nasty ways. “I think Joffrey is now the king in America,” he said in an interview to Esquire last year. “And he has grown up just as petulant and irrational as he was when he was thirteen in the books.”

Interestingly, Martin is not the only one to make such a comparison. Days before Trump’s inauguration, Jimmy Falon joked at the Golden Globes – “What would it be like if King Joffrey had lived… Well, in 12 days we are going to find out,” drawing laughter from the packed hall.

Trump’s facetious meme elicited reactions on expected lines. “Not today,” wrote GOT actor Maisie Williams, who plays the role of youngest surviving Stark sibling. In season one, when a sword-fighting instructor would ask her: “What do we say to death?” she would reply, “not today”.

The National Iranian-American Council also jumped in with their own GOT-inspired meme, saying “Donald Trump is a literal White Walker, fear-mongering, war-mongering and championing division at every opportunity for political gains.”

American writer and blogger Andy Ostroy took to Twitter to lambast Trump, asking “what kind of sick, twisted, cliff-hanging reality show stuff was it”. Author and speaker Tomi Ahoneh warned Trump that indictments, not sanctions, were coming after the election, as Mueller has been waiting. “Your real nightmare starts on Wednesday. Sleep tightly Trump, sleep tightly,” he wrote.

A Twitter user termed it a “complete joke”, saying the idea of sanctioning Iran because they stood by the nuclear deal, while the U.S. withdrew from it, was “despicable”. Another compared the Trump administration with a reality TV show.

The reaction from Iran has been remarkably measured and restrained. Iranians have dismissed what they believe is the customary bluster from the U.S. President who is not taken seriously even by his own people. Young Iranians took to Twitter to warn the U.S. President not to threaten the Islamic Republic as such hollow bluster was not going to intimidate the proud and brave Iranians.

Commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) Quds Force General Qassem Soleimani responded to Trump’s tweet with his own version of GOT-inspired meme, saying ‘I Will Stand Against You’. The image was circulated widely and became viral. Soleimani is known for walking the talk and hawks in Washington know very well that he cannot be unsettled by such hollow bluster.

The fact that the sanctions have been timed a day before the mid-term elections in the U.S. explains how it is a political maneuver to garner votes. But the move is most likely to backfire and Trump will understand that later this week. He evil plots would be defeated by his own people before Iran does.