Illegal US Sanctions Unrelated to an Iranian Nuclear Threat

by Stephen Lendman (stephenlendman.org - Home - Stephen Lendman)

Trump falsely claimed US sanctions aim to keep Iran from developing nuclear weapons it doesn't have, seek, and wants eliminated everywhere. More on his latest remarks below.

Tehran's nuclear program is entirely legal, fully complying with Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) and JCPOA provisions.

The US and Israel are nuclear outlaws for breaching the NPT, a treaty the Jewish state refuses to sign, maintaining secrecy about its illegal nuke program.

The US and other Western states fail to act against it, while criticizing Iran's nonexistent aim to develop nukes — one of many examples of their double standard hypocrisy.

Days earlier, Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI) spokesman Behrouz Kamalvandi said its uranium enrichment could increase up to 20% — far below the 90% level required for weapons development.

Iran's peaceful program with no military component dates from the 1950s, aided and encouraged by Eisenhower's Atoms for Peace program.

It was at a time when nuclear reactor construction became a new profit opportunity for US enterprises. Early ones built abroad in non-Western countries were in Israel, Pakistan and Iran.

US-installed Mohammad Reza Pahlavi aimed to create a modern energy infrastructure, built around nuclear power.

He wanted to transform power generation in the Middle East, reducing its dependency on oil and gas. 

In 1978, Iran had the world's fourth largest nuclear program, the largest among developing states, intending 20 new reactors by 1995.

Aiming to circumvent US/UK pressure to recycle petrodollars, along with wanting to construct nuclear reactors in markets competing with US companies led to his downfall.

Longstanding US policy aims to maintain dollar hegemony, key to pursuing its imperial objectives, wanting developing nations used as suppliers of oil and other raw materials, limiting their growth potential, wanting them prevented from competing with US industry.

Governments diverging from US policy are targeted for regime change, notably Iraq, Libya, Cuba, Syria, Venezuela and Iran.

On Saturday, Trump said "(w)e're putting additional sanctions on. They're going on slowly and, in some cases, pretty rapidly, but additional sanctions are being put on Iran" — to prevent its development of nuclear weapons, he falsely claimed.

Illegal US sanctions on Iran are all about crushing its economy and immiserating its people, aiming to force its ruling authorities to bend to Washington's will.

They have nothing to do with an Iranian nuclear threat that doesn't exist, not earlier or now.

On Friday, Trump said he's "not looking for war" with Iran but if happens "it'll be obliteration like you've never seen before."

Sound familiar? In August 2017, he threatened North Korea "with fire, fury and frankly power the likes of which this world has never seen before."

A year later, after receiving what he called "beautiful letters" from DPRK leader Kim Jong-un, Trump said: "We fell in love."

Last week, Trump said he got another "beautiful letter" from Kim, calling it "a very personal, very warm, very nice letter."

North Korea has a known nuclear weapons arsenal. Iran, the world's most heavily monitored country by IAEA inspectors, has none and no known intention to develop them — just the opposite, abhorring these weapons.

Kim and DJT met twice for summit talks, achieving nothing because of one-sided, unacceptable US demands — offering nothing in return but empty promises.

The US can never be trusted, time and again saying one thing, doing something entirely different, wanting dominance over other nations, rejecting mutual cooperation, why Iran refuses to engage in talks with Trump.

US war by other means rages against the Islamic Republic, more (illegal) sanctions coming, said Trump.

On Friday, Mike Pompeo falsely accused Iran of "systemic money laundering and terrorist financing…us(ing) deception and subterfuge to fund its illicit activities, threatening the integrity and security of the international financial system (sic)."

All of the above and much more reflect how the US and its imperial partners operate, notably its key NATO allies, Israel, the Saudis and UAE — waging endless wars of aggression, operating extrajudicially at home and abroad.

Iran operates by a higher standard, threatening no other nations. The US and its partners in high crimes threaten world peace and humanity's survival.

A Final Comment

In response to recent Middle East incidents, Malaysia's Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad said "as far as I can see, it is America, which is making all the provocation(s)," not Iran, adding:

"First, they withdrew from the (JCPOA nuclear) treaty, and now they're sending warships to the Gulf, and doing things that will provoke Iran" — warning that hostile US actions could head things toward "world war."

Note: Before downing the hostile US spy drone illegally in its airspace on Thursday, Iranian General Qader Rahimzadeh said the US RQ-4 Global Hawk was warned several times to leave.

When multiple warnings were ignored with no response, an Iranian surface-to-air missile downed it in self-defense, Iran's legal right.

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