Let’s look functionally at what they are trying to do. This is from Mnuchin, the Treasury Secretary:
"He [Mnuchin] said the US will cut off Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ access to capital to fund Iranian malign activity, including:
Its status as the world’s largest state sponsor of terror
Its use of ballistic missiles against our allies
Its support for the brutal Assad regime in Syria
Its human rights violations against its own people
Its abuses of the international financial system"
There is no mechanism to claw back the funds already unfrozen.
How long would it take for new sanctions to have an effect on Iran’s “sponsorship of terror”?
Saudi Arabia is dancing right now, because they hate Iran.
Israel is the antagonist; they convinced Trump to do this now. Netanyahu had his “Colin Powell” moment last week.
Maybe sanctions will force Iran to downgrade activity in Syria, thus forcing Russia’s hand: either put up or shut up about Syria.
Strangling Iran economically doesn’t “help” everyday Iranians.
They are already hampered from the international financial system. Even with sanctions lifted they can barely move money as it is. The USA has still made it very hard for them.
I’m not sure of the immediate gain. IF it had an effect on some of the above, like Syria, then maybe there is a silver lining. The problem is, that would be ascribing sense and reason to the Trump administration. They have shown time and again they are not sensible or reasonable, so I am not sure how all of this would play out. With a competent chess player at the helm, maybe some good would come of this. But we don’t have a competent chess player at the helm. Seems like we should brace for disaster.
That’s the thing about Trump and his base: They only require said smidgen. Trump will, as usual, claim that every smidgen is a grand, glorious victory. Like:
His electoral college victory was the biggest since Reagan
More people attended his inaugural than any other.
He really won the popular vote
Gorsuch
Biggest tax cut ever
North Korea has denuclearized
Israel embassy in Jerusalem-biggest and best
Illegal immigration down, maybe eliminated
Coal jobs by the thousands
Because (a) they don’t actually have any nuclear weapons, and (b) this isn’t actually about nuclear non-proliferation. The Iranians are not the threat here.
The US and their regional proxies are using this as a means of manufacturing an excuse for war. As usual.
These are all facts, read about them. Where I live the lowest octane gas just topped $3/gal. That’s the first time in at least three years I have seen that. Maybe we should frack more? Pay attention bro.
Yeah, and if anyone, no matter how much a know-nothing idiot, supports him, he feels vindicated.
What I’m finding extra-aggravating about his rejection of reality in this case is his insistence that he’s an expert on the treaty - while every single thing he says about it is objectively wrong (and usually the opposite of the facts). Yet it doesn’t stop him at all.
The shithead in chief has created another straw man for himself. He was afraid that North Korea was about to genuinely de-nuke, and he can’t afford that. Cheetolini knows that he has nothing to offer but fear and bullshit. Without being able to chimp-scream about the danger from North Korea, he was in danger of losing the biggest thing he had for keeping the idiots and rednecks whipped up. So he pulled a move that he knows will result in Iran ramping up their efforts to become a nuclear power, to give himself something else he can scream about to keep his dickhead followers on the edges of their seats. God damn him and everyone who voted for him.
Why the preemptive sanctions? Seems counterproductive (even beyond the whole backing out thing). It simply encourages Iran to restart their nuclear program and then what?
Huh. I would’ve sworn that World War III was going to start in North Korea. But I guess when you’re going to be incinerated in a nuclear blast, it doesn’t much matter where the bomb comes from. Nice knowing you, everybody. Good luck.
They’ll restart their nuclear program and the US will have an excuse to go to war on them. According to Trump’s advisors.
Of course, Iran isn’t stupid. They might just buy some nuclear warheads off Trump’s new best friend, Mr Kim, in return for some oil or something sent via a third party, or something like that.
Reminder that Bernie was the only member of the Democratic caucus to vote against last year’s set of unjustified Iran sanctions, specifically on the grounds that he accurately saw it as the start of an attack on the Iran deal.
Since Trump never bothered to get any allies onboard with his cunning plan, does he plan to punish UK, France and Germany if they don’t reinstate sanctions as well?
