The World Is Uniting For International Law, Against US Empire

by Kevin Zeese

Co-Written by Kevin Zeese and Margaret Flower

“We oppose the extraterritorial application of unilateral measures.“

That is not Cuba, Nicaragua, Iran, Russia, or China talking about the most recent unilateral coercive measures imposed by the United States against Venezuela, i.e. economic sanctions that have become an economic blockade, but the European Union. Even allies who have embarrassed themselves by recognizing the phony “interim president” Juan Guaido are saying the US has gone too far.

All of the countries listed above and many more have stated their opposition to the escalation of the US economic war against Venezuela. Venezuela, along with Iran, has become a prime target of US regime change, and both are uniting the world in opposition to US bullying behavior, which is hastening the demise of US domination. Popular social movements are growing against US unilateralism and violations of international law.

Activists in Indonesia on the World Day of Protest against the US blockade of Venezuela. Telesur.

Countries of the World are Uniting Against the United States

Six months ago, the US sought to install a puppet government led by Juan Guaido. Guaido, trained by the US, was an unknown personality to most Venezuelans. He is a minor politician who barely won election to the defunct National Assembly. Today, the failure of the US coup attempt is evident. Repeated efforts by Guaido, his allies and the United States to rally support for Guaido from the people and Venezuelan military have failed.

A large rebuke on the international stage occurred in July when delegations from 120 countries of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) united to oppose US policy against Venezuela, saying in a statement that only Venezuela can decide its fate, no other state can intervene in accordance with the United Nations Charter. The UN General Secretary pointed out the importance of the Non-Aligned Movement when she spoke at the beginning of the conference, stating that “two-thirds of the United Nations members and 55% of the world’s population” are represented by it, making it the second-largest multinational body in the world after the UN.

Javad Zarif, the Foreign Minister of Iran, put the US intervention against Venezuela in context, declaring upon his arrival for the meeting: “The resistance of the people of Venezuela against the United States is very important for all the countries of the world.”

The economic blockade, announced last week, has also escalated opposition to dollar domination. There are now 21 countries on the US sanctions list and scores of other countries are impacted by US sanctions. In reality, what the US is doing is imposing unilateral coercive measures against these countries, which violate the United Nations Charter. Sanctions imply there was a formal action that justified punishment, but that is not the case here.

The Caracas Declaration was passed at the NAM meeting. As Anya Parampil reported in the Grayzone, “the delegates unanimously affirmed their pursuit of a multipolar world and a desire to construct an international financial system independent of US control.”

The Declaration also contained a clause calling for following the Vienna Convention, which includes a provision to protect diplomatic missions. No doubt this was in response to the US seizure of Venezuelan diplomatic properties, highlighted by the work of the Embassy Protection Collective to uphold international law.

Support the defense of the Embassy Protection Collective
against federal criminal prosecution, join in calling for dropping the charges and raising funds for the legal defense.

Minneapolis, July 15 (RHC) Demonstrators in the state of Minnesota condemned U.S. sanctions against Iran, Venezuela and Cuba and expressed solidarity with the peoples of these countries.

Sanctions are Economic Terrorism

At the NAM meeting, representatives of various countries described the impacts of the US’ economic war on their people. Zarif of Iran made the point clear:“Just Google ‘terrorism.’ This is the definition that the dictionary will give you: ‘unlawful use of violence or intimidation, especially against civilians, in pursuit of political gains’… so please friends, stop using [the term] ‘sanctions’… sanctions have a legal connotation. This is economic terrorism… we have to say it again and again.”

Illegal unilateral coercive measures have contributed to the deaths of 40,000 Venezuelans in 2017 and 2018. A leading Venezuelan Economist, Francisco Rodríguez, says the Trump Administration’s sanctions are costing Venezuela $16.9 billion annually and threaten a famine that could cause hundreds of thousands of deaths. Two days after Trump’s new Executive Order was signed, a ship carrying 25 thousand tons of soy-made products for food production in Venezuela was blocked.

The NAM conference agreed to study and report on the impact of US sanctions, ensuring that the movement against illegal unilateral coercive measures by the United States will continue.

Russia, an observer of the NAM, was represented by Vice Minister Sergey Ryabkov who said the US was strangling Venezuela with one hand through sanctions while pick-pocketing it with the other by freezing its assets held in Western banks. Ryabkov told The Grayzone, “the US has sanctioned almost 70 countries in recent decades, impacting the lives of over one-third of the world’s population.”

The US tried to threaten diplomats to convince them not to attend the meeting, but was unsuccessful. Jorge Arreaza, the Venezuelan Foreign Minister, described the successful summit as “a failure of US diplomacy” driven home by “120 countries [that] are not aligned with the US… they want to be free, they want to be independent.” He described the Non-Aligned Movement as a “vaccine against unilateralism.”

President Maduro spoke at the meeting. He underscored the march of history toward freedom and the end of US empire describing the 21st Century as “the century of freedom, it is the century of the end of empires, and it is just beginning in 2019…nothing, nor anyone will stop us…no one can stop the course of the new story that is making its way!”

People’s Movements Organizing Against US’ Violations of International Law

The US blockade against Venezuela and continued threats of military attack galvanized worldwide protests this weekend. Popular Resistance joined with other social movements and civil society organizations in denouncing the blockade.

In addition to the Non-Aligned Movement’s renewed commitment to the United Nations Charter, popular movements are organizing along similar lines. This week, we launched the Global Appeal to Save International Law, an effort to create a global network of people and social movements to demand respect for the United Nations Charter and its use as a tool for maintaining peace, guaranteeing human rights and protecting the sovereignty of nations.

Sign on to the Global Appeal to Save International Law here.

From September 20-23, a coalition of organizations is holding the People’s Mobilization to Stop the US War Machine and Save the Planet. The Mobe will highlight the role of US militarism as the largest polluter on the planet during the Global Climate Strike on Friday, September 20 and join in calling for decolonization at the Puerto Rico Independence March on September 21. The People’s Mobe will hold a rally at Herald Square at 2:00 pm on Sunday, September 22. On Monday the 23rd, we will hold an evening event: “A Path To International Peace: Realizing the Vision of the United Nations Charter,” which will feature social movements and government representatives working for an end to US violations of international law. Registration is free, but is required. Register here.

Sign up to get updates about the People’s Mobilization to Stop the US War Machine and Save the Planet!

Opposition to US violations of international law were also evident at the Sao Paulo Forum held in Caracas from July 25-28 with the participation of 190 organizations, political parties, social movements, workers’ movements, parliamentarians and intellectuals from Latin America, the Caribbean and several continents. Seven hundred people participated in the four-day event showing unity across Latin America against US aggression.

A dozen members of the Venezuelan Embassy Protection Collective attended the forum, spoke to the conference and were received with standing ovations for their work to uphold international law. The Collective had challenges getting to the Forum, due to US airlines no longer flying to Venezuela, and one member was harassed at the US border when he returned.

A Final Declaration was issued by the Forum in support for Venezuela, Cuba, Nicaragua and other progressive governments under attack by US imperialism and for a demand to free Lula and other left-wing leaders imprisoned for political reasons.

Members of the Embassy Protection Collective in Caracas.

Rising Resistance

People are standing up to US interventions in many other countries. In Honduras, there are widespread protests against the US-installed coup president, Juan Orlando Hernandez, who was indicted last week in the US for drug trafficking. US-trained police are responding to protests with violence.  A hunger strike by political prisoners turned into a call for Hernandez’s resignation. Embassy Protector Adrienne Pine is there and reporting via Twitter.

In Nicaragua, peace has prevailed after a US coup attempt last year. A US-funded Human Rights Director was accused of massive theft of US regime change dollars and inflating death tolls. To understand Nicaragua, read this excellent book by social movement leaders. There is a great deal happening in Cuba, Colombia, Brazil, Ecuador and other countries responding to US domination. Stephon Sefton writes that the next five years will be pivotal for the Left in Latin America.

Another top target is Iran where the US has escalated its economic war after Trump violated the nuclear arms agreement. Iran is being very strategic in responding to US aggression in the Strait of Hormuz and the US has been unable to get traditional allies like France and Germany to join with it, causing concerns within the US foreign policy establishment. The US economic war is undermining the Iranian economy and causing tens of thousands of deaths annually.

Iran has never attacked another country nor invaded a country to steal its resources. They are proud of their skills in diplomacy and negotiation, as a veteran of the Iraq-Iran war wrote to President Trump in an open letter. He warns that the initiator of war is the loser, and attacks on Iran will backfire. Foreign Minister Zarif made a similar point with regard to the unilateral coercive measures saying US economic terrorism will backfire against the US.

High level officials at the Non-Aligned Movement meeting in Caracas, 2019. By the Grayzone Project.

The Loss of US Supremacy

Aggressive US actions being put in place by Trump, John Bolton, and Mike Pompeo are backfiring. Responses are being put in place that will unravel US economic power, which is more fragile than it seems.

Foreign Minister Zarif summarizes the situation saying, “Last year we did 35 percent of our bilateral transactions with Turkey in our own currencies. And this is happening between us and China, between us and India, between us and Russia, and between us and the countries in the region.”

Countries are responding to dollar domination by trading without the US dollar. JP Morgan’s private bank advised clients that “the US dollar could lose its status as the world’s dominant currency” and urged investors to diversify their currency holdings. New financial structures are being created by Europe, Russia, Iran, China, and others to trade without the dollar. The value of the dollar is in decline and last month Credit Suisse predicted it would continue to fall.

The US political leadership seems unable to change course. The bi-partisans in Washington, DC passed a record-setting two-year military budget that continues to misspend US resources on an arms race and never-ending war rather than on critical needs at home. The failure to rebuild infrastructure, make education from pre-school through college free and available to all, confront the lack of investment in cities and rural areas and confront the crisis of healthcare with national improved Medicare for all will cause a downward US spiral.

The myth of American Exceptionalism is being exposed, as we discuss with Danny Haiphong on Clearing the FOG. We need to prepare for a new era as the 2020’s offer potential for significant social and political transformation if we work at it.

Kevin Zeese and Margaret Flower are directors of Popular Resistance

Europe’s Decline Inevitable unless It Resists US Unilateralism: Italian Author

TEHRAN (Tasnim) – An Italian author and geopolitical analyst hailed the “successful” strategy of resistance adopted by countries like Iran, Venezuela, and Syria against the US, and warned that if Europe does not liberate itself from US unilateralism, its decline is inevitable.

“There is no doubt that Iran, Syria, Venezuela, and Yemen have been successful in their strategy of resistance…,” Stefano Vernole, the head of External Relations at the Eurasia Mediterranean Study Center, said in an interview with the Tasnim News Agency. 

“What Europe needs is a process of military, economic and cultural liberation (from US) on a continental scale, otherwise its decline and disintegration appear practically inevitable,” he added.

Vernole, a graduate in contemporary history and analysis of conflicts, ideologies, and politics in the contemporary world, has worked in the field of bibliographic cataloging and in the field of public administration. He is the head of external relations at the Eurasia Mediterranean Study Center and Deputy Director of "Eurasia", a journal of geopolitical studies. He is the author of Ex-Yugoslavia: Dirty Game in the Balkans, National Fragmentation and Geopolitical Risk of Kosovo (2013), The Serbian Question and the Kosovo Crisis (2008), as well as co-author of The struggle for Kosovo (2007), Tibet Crossroads between Past and Future (2014), Discovering Tibet (2015), and Lo Xizang (Tibet) and the New Silk Road (2016).

The following is the full text of the interview:

Tasnim: International developments are full of examples of how regional and trans-regional countries have successfully adopted strategies of resistance against oppression and unilateralism that have borne good results. As you know, countries like Iran, Syria, Yemen, Venezuela, and Palestine have protected their national sovereignty against foreign threats and achieved many gains through this strategy. In contrast, some countries have adopted a strategy of appeasement or reconciliation when being hectored and bullied by world powers. Given the experiences of these resistance countries, what do you think about their approach and the concept of resistance?

Vernole: There is no doubt that Iran, Syria, Venezuela, and Yemen have been successful in their strategy of resistance but these are sovereign states, the situation is different for the Palestinians who in reality are still struggling to have real recognition. It is equally clear that not only their condition of national sovereignty was essential for the purpose, in fact, the support of a part of the anti-imperialist powers proved decisive. Syria has obtained decisive help precisely from the Iranian and Russian military intervention, Venezuela has nevertheless obtained economic and diplomatic support from Moscow and Beijing, Yemen has been helped by Iran and other countries. The cause of Palestine in recent decades, however, inflamed the hearts of millions of people around the world. Unfortunately, the internal differences and some strategic errors of the leadership of the PLO (including Hamas) in recent years have seriously damaged the image, alienating a part of the likes he enjoyed. To sum up, there are at least two conditions necessary for victorious resistance: an independent territorial base and important international friendships.

Tasnim: Do you think countries that currently toe the line of major powers like the US ought to emulate these experiences of resistance countries to protect their independence and stand against unilateralism?

Vernole: Theoretically yes, but the starting conditions are different for each nation, as I explained partly in the previous answer. First of all, the difference is between countries that belong (better are employed) to NATO or not, because they have much narrower margins of maneuver than others. Paradoxically, non-Western countries have more autonomy and the possibility of alternative choices. An emblematic case is that of the current Italian government, within which there would be exponents certainly interested in a 360-degree geopolitical turn compared to the current strategic location of their country, but they have to deal with the constraints deriving from belonging to the Atlantic Alliance. Rather than making high-sounding proclamations, it is a question of snatching bits of sovereignty whenever the opportunity arises, remembering that time plays against the United States and in favor of the Eurasian group led by China and Russia.

Tasnim: In an op-ed article written for Tasnim, the Secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, Ali Shamkhani, warned the European countries of the risks of inaction regarding the US administration’s unilateral policies, saying the current EU leaders will be held accountable for Europe’s future challenges. Shamkhani criticized Europe for becoming an unimportant and passive actor that accepts humiliation at the hands of the US and has to live with the destructive effects of Washington’s unilateralism that have affected several international treaties. What is your take on that? Isn’t it better for the EU to stand up to US bullying and unilateralism?

Vernole: The comparison between supporters of US unilateralism and those of Eurasian multipolarism is today the great geopolitical game that takes place on a global scale. However, Europe cannot support it for two main reasons: it is not a truly sovereign international entity not even possessing an autonomous army but having to rely on NATO (i.e. a military alliance led by the USA); he has no alternative idea to that of liberalism and North American liberalism, having renounced his cultural identity in favor of US soft power. Difficult, given also the recent appointments to the top management of the European Commission, that Brussels can soon reverse this trend, so it risks being relegated to the margins of the global agenda. What Europe needs is a process of military, economic and cultural liberation on a continental scale, otherwise, its decline and disintegration appear practically inevitable.

Germany and US sanctions on Iran

By Hossein Ziaee*

While Gordon Sondland, US ambassador to the European Union, has dismissed the bloc’s move to set up a separate channel to trade with Iran, known as a Special-Purpose Vehicle (SPV), as “nothing more than a paper tiger”, evidence suggests that the payment mechanism is getting off to a good start.

In first reaction to the new round of US sanctions against Iran, German Government Spokesman Steffen Seibert said last week that his country is convinced that it should enable legal business relations with Iran and is checking how to protect companies affected by US sanctions reimposed on Iran.

German Foreign Minister Heiko Mass, who has described supporting for the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) as a barometer that shows how much the EU is independent from the US, told Iran’s Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif in a phone call on November 3 that it is part of ‘Germany’s strategy’ to try to establish the planned SPV.

In fact, the recent reactions prove that the US has faced an unprecedented isolation, much sooner than it had been anticipated, after announcing the new batch of its sanctions on November 4.

One of the main reasons for the rejection of the Trump administration’s ‘inhumane sanctions’ on Iran has been the insistence of the European Union, and in particular Germany, on Europe’s independence from the US bullying policies.

The JCPOA is so important to the EU that one can say the bloc’s independence vis-à-vis US unilateralism hinges on it.

It is needless to say that the EU’s failure to preserve the JCPOA would badly dent the bloc’s future and identity in the eyes of many international organizations and independent countries.

The German newspaper Handelsblatt quoted Christian Dürr, a German politician of the Free Democratic Party, as saying that “the government should adopt effective measures to render more support to the German firms active in Iran.”

Germany is now trying to keep protecting its firms in Iran using the Hermes cover — an export credit guarantee (ECG) by the German Federal Government which is an important part of German foreign trade policy and protects German companies in the event of non-payment by foreign debtors.

In addition, the planned SPV, the blocking statute, and keeping Iran’s access to the Belgium-based SWIFT financial messaging service are among the other measures supported by Germany to keep the JCPOA in place.

This comes as Germany has shown some symbolic resistance against the US pressures to leave the Iranian market as well.

The auto-making Volkswagen Company, unlike Daimler-Benz, has defied calls to officially leave Iran. And German airline Lufthansa is still operating flights in the country.

This is while British Airways and Air France said in late August they would halt flights to Iran "as the operation is currently not commercially viable."

Overall, it is true that the EU’s political support for Iran nuclear deal has been more assertive than the bloc’s support in terms of economy, but there remains a strong will to increase economic relations with Iran even after the reimposition of the US sanctions, something that has made the White House furious with the EU.

The success of the EU-Iranian diplomacy in turning the JCPOA from a model of US animosity towards an international agreement into a global front against Washington’s unilateralism has, in practice, caused the first rift in transatlantic relations.

Hossein Ziaee is a freelance journalist.

EU punches the US in the face over trade with Iran

As said before, the US policy of sanctions vis-à-vis Iran has put it in diplomatic isolation, forcing its most trusted ally since the Second World War, Europe, in an antagonistic position.

While the reason for this geo-political distance lies in a series of withdrawals and policy reversals the Trump administration has made and done, the case of Iran stands out mainly because the entire US Middle East policy is now focused on Iran, namely the imperative of forcing the later into utmost submission to the advantage of the usurper regime of Israel and the House of Saud. But EU is making sure to stem the tide of US unilateralism not just because the EU doesn’t believe in the US-Israeli rhetoric about Iran’s violations of the deal, but also because the EU wants to maintain a productive relationship with Iran. EU wants to buy its oil and exploit Iran’s big market to its advantage; hence, the EU decision to put in a fresh legal framework to facilitate trade and help Iran bypass US sanctions.

This landmark development took place on the sidelines of the US General Assembly’s annual session in New York when EU foreign policy head Federica Mogherini and Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, announced a “special purpose vehicle” (SPV). The EU head thus explained the SPV, “in practical terms, this will mean that EU member states will set up a legal entity to facilitate legitimate financial transactions with Iran and this will allow European companies to continue to trade with Iran in accordance with European Union law and could be open to other partners in the world.” Mogherini added, importantly enough, this vehicle would “facilitate payments related to Iran’s exports, including oil.” 

Needless to say, the creation of this mechanism will also keep JCPOA, intact. On a larger geo-political terrain, the EU now stands in full agreement with Russia and China regarding the necessity of bypassing US sanctions for any transactions and trade deals with Iran. And, it cannot be emphasized enough that by thus placing a legal framework in practice, EU has now made a firm comeback in global geo-politics as an independent player, changing its erstwhile position of always playing a second fiddle to the US.

Accordingly, the EU is no longer mincing words when it comes to taking a stand on the US policy of sanctions. The EU commission has already expressed that they consider the ‘secondary sanctions’ imposed by the US on European companies illegal. According to new rules, put in place in August 2018, European companies, particularly those that do trade with Iran and are in turn sanctioned by the US, have the right to challenge US sanctions in European courts and seek compensation from the US government or American companies. Let’s not forget that the blocking statute, the framework that protects EU companies, isn’t here for the first time. In 1996, this status was issued when the US had put secondary sanctions on Iran and Cuba. Back then, the mere issuance of this statue had forced the US to suspend sanctions. Whether we can expect such a reversal from the Trump administration is not hard to guess due to the overwhelming pressure coming from Saudi Arabia and the child-killer regime of Israel for sanctioning Iran and thus, if possible, cripple its economy. What, therefore, we can expect is a visible institutional EU-US division on Iran.

Equally significant is the possibility that the SPV will allow the Belgium based SWIFT system to be bypassed, preventing the US from interfering as and when it deemed fit, consequently ending up with its dollar de-weaponized. This system, if it gets fully functional soon enough, will thus sync very well with Russian and Chinese policy measures that seek to create a financial system independent of the US influence or interference. Success of this system, therefore, may very well lure Russia and China into its orbit and thus pave way for a new era of financial cooperation between EU and Russia-China and even other reluctant players in the region. For one thing, the SPV will put Euro, instead of dollar, as the chief trade and reserve currency, for another, it will also pave the way for Euro to play a more active role in the global financial system. With EU thus weapon sing its own currency, the currency wars will no longer be played just between China and the US.

Well, this is what the US could expect from Europe: a full counter-attack after Washington’s refusal to allow EU companies doing business with Iran to be exempted from sanctions. This counter-attack is big as it has the potential to completely re-write how the EU deals with the US and how it deals with the rest of the world, including chief US competitors, Russia and China. With the US already in the middle of a trade war with China, a ‘war of attrition’ between the US and EU should bring the anti-US parties closer.

Brussels sets up a 'special purpose vehicle' to bypass the US dollar and allow financial transactions with Tehran to continue; history may one day rule this was the fateful geopolitical moment when the European Union clinched its PhD on foreign policy. Let’s remind you that, last week, EU foreign policy head Federica Mogherini and Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, announced at the UN a “special purpose vehicle” (SPV) to deal with the Trump administration’s sanctions on Iran after the US unilaterally pulled out of the JCPOA, also known as the Iran nuclear deal. The SPV, which according to Mogherini “is aimed at keeping trade with Tehran flowing while the US sanctions are in place,” could be in effect before the second stage of US sanctions begin in early November. This single initiative means Brussels is attempting to position itself as a serious geopolitical player, openly defying the US and essentially nullifying the Iran demonization campaign launched by the White House, CIA and State Department. It’s not enough to remember that the JCPOA is a UN-endorsed multilateral deal achieved after years of painstaking negotiations. The other JCPOA signatories apart from Iran and the US – Russia, China and the EU-3 (France, Britain and Germany) – have always been adamant to keep the deal going while supporting Iran on the civilian nuclear energy field. It may have taken a few months, but the EU-3 have finally realized what Moscow and Beijing already knew: any business with Iran – which is in the interest of all players – must bypass the US dollar.

So now we come to a situation where the EU-3 will set up a multinational, state-backed, financial mechanism to help European companies conduct business with Iran in euros – and thus away from US financial enforcers. In parallel, we will have Russia and China doing business with Iran in rubles and yuan. Savvy energy traders knew that BRICS members Moscow and Beijing would continue to do oil and gas business with Tehran. BRICS member India, though, folded under American pressure.

EU diplomats have conveyed to Asia Times a mood of absolute exasperation with the Trump administration in Brussels. A diplomat sums up the sentiment, saying: “We are not going to be bullied by extra-territorial interference anymore. The JCPOA was the first EU foreign policy success. We worked very hard for it, and we are determined that the agreement won’t be undermined under any circumstances.” On the other hand, US national security adviser John Bolton – not exactly a popular figure in Brussels – has vowed to keep imposing “maximum pressure” on Tehran, and is threatening the EU if the SPV is implemented.

For Brussels, preservation of the JCPOA is sacrosanct. It’s directly linked to the credibility of Brussels institutions that are always under siege. If they buckle, a potential disaster in the coming European parliamentary elections in May 2019 will become a certainty.

The game reveals its complexity when we consider that Iran has been the catalyst for the EU to finally stand up to the US – and potentially get closer to Russia and China. What we see emerging is the contours of a possible cross-Eurasia alliance, in multiple fronts, between Russia-China-Iran – the three key nodes of Eurasia integration – and the EU-3.

It’s a game worthy of a Persian chess master: involving energy wars, the balance of power in Southwest Asia, the absolute power of the US-controlled global financial system and the status of the US dollar – bolstered by the petrodollar – as the global reserve currency. All these themes had been lurking in the EU corridors in Brussels for years – with commissioners and diplomats pressing for a more forceful euro in global trade, much as in Beijing in relation to the yuan.

Arguably, a concerted offensive spearheaded by the SPV will lead the euro, the yuan and the ruble to eventually establish themselves as credible reserve currencies. Dollar weaponization, beware. EU finally stood up to US ‘bullying’.

What you heard and read was the excerpts from article authored by Salman Rafi Sheikh, a research-analyst of International Relations and Pakistan’s foreign and domestic affairs, and Pepe Escobar who is correspondent-at-large at Asia Times. His latest book is 2030.