Encircling Iran

Eric Margolis: US Struggle With Iran’s Peace Offensive

"Iran is now making a major push to convince the world it has no nuclear weapons ambitions, starting with its spiritual leader, Ayatollah Khomenei who has issued a fatwa condemning all nuclear weapons. The logical course for the United States to follow is to welcome Iran’s overtures and restore normal relations between the two powers. An Iran aligned to the outside world is less likely to be troublesome than the angry, frightened, besieged Iran of today. Furthermore, Washington has at some point got to accept that Iran is an influential regional power with its own legitimate interests." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingEric Margolis: US Struggle With Iran’s Peace Offensive

Iran’s new president promises: We will never make nuclear weapons

"NBC aired a longer excerpt from Curry’s interview with Rouhani Wednesday night, in which he tells Curry Iran has never tried to build a nuclear weapon. Instead, he explained, 'We solely are looking for peaceful nuclear technology.' 'Can you say that Iran will not build a nuclear weapon under any circumstances whatsoever?' Curry asked. 'The answer to this question is quite obvious,' Rouhani responded. 'We have time and against said that under no circumstances would we seek any weapons of mass destruction, including nuclear weapons, nor will we ever.'" Continue reading →

Continue ReadingIran’s new president promises: We will never make nuclear weapons

U.S. to seize New York skyscraper it claims is secretly owned by Iran

"A federal judge ruled in favor of the government’s suit this week, saying the building’s owners had violated Iran sanctions and money laundering laws. Manhattan Federal Prosecutor Preet Bharara said the decision upholds the justice department claims the owner of the building 'was (and is) a front for Bank Melli, and thus a front for the Government of Iran.' Bharara said the funds from selling the building would provide 'a means of compensating victims of Iranian-sponsored terrorism.' Prosecutors allege the building’s owners, the Alavi Foundation and Assa Corporation, transferred rental income and other funds to Iran’s state-owned Bank Melli." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingU.S. to seize New York skyscraper it claims is secretly owned by Iran

New Heights in Disgraceful Asset Forfeiture (Seizure)

"The U.S. is seizing 650 Fifth Avenue, the 36-story Piaget Building, from Iranian interests. I’d guess the value is several hundred million dollars. All asset seizure procedures are an utter disgrace, totally unlawful and unjust. This one is triply disgraceful, based as it is on undeclared economic warfare against Iran, phonily done in the name of anti-terrorism, and based on as about as unlawful a 'law' as Congress has ever manufactured." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingNew Heights in Disgraceful Asset Forfeiture (Seizure)

Obama on Iran: Diplomacy can work when backed with military threats

"Barack Obama has revealed an exchange of letters with Iran’s new President Hassan Rowhani but warned his reluctance to strike Syria should not devalue US threats of force to thwart an Iranian nuclear bomb. The US president, in an interview aired Sunday, publicly confirmed the outreach to Rowhani for the first time, and said he believed the Syria chemical arms drama showed that diplomacy could work if backed by threats of military action. In his interview, Obama said that the outcome of the Syrian deal offered Iran a 'lesson' in the benefits of diplomacy." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingObama on Iran: Diplomacy can work when backed with military threats

Why the US is Really Chasing War With Syria

"Global markets rallied overnight on hopes that a conflict may be avoided if Syria gives up its chemical weapons. If that’s the case, it’s a rally that will fade later in the week. That’s because the ongoing Syrian conflict has nothing to do with chemical weapons. It’s all about regime change, which is all about natural gas and pipelines. But this is not just ‘another’ Middle Eastern conflict. It’s much deeper, subtler, and potentially far more dangerous than preceding conflicts. As we’ll attempt to explain, the situation in Syria is a direct result of the relative decline of US imperial power." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingWhy the US is Really Chasing War With Syria

Iran’s new U.N. nuclear envoy gets harsh reception

"Western envoys gave Iran’s new ambassador to the UN atomic agency a frosty welcome Wednesday, saying Tehran’s new government should waste no time proving to the world it does not want the bomb. Speaking at a meeting of the International Atomic Energy Agency’s board of governors, US envoy Joseph Macmanus said Iran was refusing to comply with UN Security Council and IAEA resolutions demanding it suspend key parts of its nuclear programme. Iran denies seeking or ever having sought nuclear weapons and argues that the six UN Security Council resolutions passed against it since 2006 — four with sanctions attached — are illegal." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingIran’s new U.N. nuclear envoy gets harsh reception

Iran Ruling In Europe Blocking Sanctions Draws Anger From U.S.

"In a setback for the United States’ attempts to isolate Iran, a European Union court threw out sanctions Friday on seven Iranian companies, including four banks, rejecting arguments that they were acting as front companies to bypass the punitive measures. The General Court in Brussels, the union’s second-highest tribunal, ruled that the bloc wrongly imposed sanctions against the Iranian companies as part of its efforts to stop Iran from developing nuclear weapons, a decision that immediately drew the ire of American officials. The United States Treasury took the opposite tack on Friday, imposing restrictions on a network of six individuals and four businesses for links to oil sales." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingIran Ruling In Europe Blocking Sanctions Draws Anger From U.S.

Bush neocon worries that Syria vote means Congress won’t back Iran strike

"During a panel discussion on ABC News, Senor pointed out that there were two camps within the Republican Party. ;One is sort of the Rand Paul camp: loosely defined, isolationists, doesn’t want to be engaged in the world no matter what Obama says, can’t be moved,' he explained. 'There’s another camp… which has been supportive of engagement in the world, but they say they don’t trust Obama, they don’t have confidence in him, they don’t think he competent.' 'And the problem with that argument is it means that they’re not going to be for any military force anywhere for the next three years,' Senor warned." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingBush neocon worries that Syria vote means Congress won’t back Iran strike

House Staffer Tells Me What AIPAC Is Doing

"Israel has no problem with the Assad regime. Like their dearly departed fellow former strongman Hosni Mubarak, both Hafez and Bashir Assad scrupulously kept the peace with Israel since 1973. As for chemical weapons, Israel not only has used them in Gaza but is one of seven countries in the world (Syria is another one) that has not ratified the treaty banning their use. Additionally, any regime likely to succeed Assad’s is likely to be more militantly anti-Israel and more trigger happy than the current regime. The reason Israel (and its lobby) are going all out to push the United States to attack Syria is as a precedent for a much larger attack on Iran." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingHouse Staffer Tells Me What AIPAC Is Doing