Steve Kramer – Black or White
No, this is not an article about tumultuous events in the United States. (For the record, I believe the horrible race-based riots in many US cities are a creation of the mass media, which colors every issue with a racial tinge.) This article deals with what I deem a black or white issue: stopping Iran, the world’s foremost sponsor of terrorism.
The US has now twice failed to trigger a “snapback” mechanism* in the UN Security Council to reimpose sanctions against Iran. Indonesia’s UN Ambassador Dian Triansyah Djani dismissed the move that could have ended the 2015 Iranian deal, under his authority as president of the Council for the month of August. He said, “There is no consensus in the council and thus the president is not in the position to take further action.”
* quick reversion to previous, onerous sanctions
In August 2015, in an address at American University regarding his Iran Deal (JCPOA), President Obama said, “After two years of negotiations, we have achieved a detailed arrangement that permanently prohibits Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon. [Not true.] It cuts off all of Iran’s pathways to a bomb. It contains the most comprehensive inspection and verification regime ever negotiated to monitor a nuclear program. …Iran will also not be able to acquire the enriched uranium that could be used for a bomb. [Not true.]
“As soon as this deal is implemented, Iran will remove two-thirds of its centrifuges. For the next decade, Iran will not enrich uranium with its more advanced centrifuges. [Not true.] …For decades, inspectors will have access to Iran’s entire nuclear supply chain — from the uranium mines and mills where they get raw materials, to the centrifuge production facilities where they make machines to enrich it. [Not true.]
“…For Iran to cheat, it has to build a lot more than just one building or a covert facility like Fordow. It would need a secret source for every single aspect of its program. No nation in history has been able to pull off such subterfuge when subjected to such rigorous inspections. [Israel’s Mossad recovered extensive evidential documents in 2018 detailing Iran’s subterfuge in continuing nuclear weapons research in the previous decade.]
And under the terms of the deal, inspectors will have the permanent ability to inspect any suspicious sites in Iran. [Not true.]
“And finally, Iran has powerful incentives to keep its commitments. Before getting sanctions relief, Iran has to take significant, concrete steps like removing centrifuges and getting rid of its stockpile. If Iran violates the agreement over the next decade, all of the sanctions can snap back into place. We won’t need the support of other members of the U.N. Security Council; America can trigger snapback on our own.”
(https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/the-press-office/2015/08/05/remarks-president-iran-nuclear-deal)
So much for America triggering a “snapback” on its own. As proven by the Security Council this week, the promises and understandings made by the Obama administration were worthless. I can understand how the president of Indonesia, which has the world’s largest Muslim population and hates Israel, will support Iran no matter what. But how can we account for Western allies of the US backing Iran, the implacable enemy of the West, not just Israel?
One reason may be that Iran doesn’t overtly proclaim “Death to Britain, France, and all of Europe.” It reserves its death threats for Israel and the US. So why should the Europeans worry?!! Europe as a whole has a significant and ever-growing Muslim minority, so that might discourage an Iranian attack against them. Nor can one ignore the political clout of Muslim voters on European politicians. To understand how Europe’s influx of Muslims has changed the Continent and Britain, I highly recommend Douglas Murray’s The Strange Death of Europe.
In an article appearing shortly after the inauguration of the 2015 Iran Deal, these comments by Saeed Ghasseminejad, an Iran analyst with the Washington-based Foundation for the Defense of Democracies, appeared:
“President Obama’s promise about the snapback sanction has no truth in it. When international companies go to Iran and commit themselves and their shareholders to long-term multi-billion dollar investments, there will be no snapback sanction mechanism. It took the U.S. almost a decade to convince Europeans to leave Iran’s market, as the European companies were deeply invested in the country. Those who promise an immediate return of sanctions in future are either naïve or they are not telling the truth.” (https://clarionproject.org/looking-iran-greed-europe-lines-business/)
The background for the passage of the Iran Deal is all about the money. It was passed after a protracted period of UN sanctions against Iran, which prohibited most business with Iran, a country the size of Germany, Europe’s largest. Billions of British pounds and European Euros were suspended until the passage of the JCPOA, which for the Europeans was “all about the money.” Having Iran as a trading partner, even one limited by some sanctions, was much more important to them than anything else.
Now that the harshest sanctions of the JCPOA are ending, the US wishes to continue them at the very least. The pushback against sanctions is overwhelming, not because Iran has foresworn getting at nuclear weapons capability, not because Iran has stopped fomenting terror around the world, not because Iran’s missiles and its proxy armies have retreated, but because of greed conquering all.
I conjecture that the Trump administration will seek to apply onerous sanctions on its own against countries that flout its (and Israel’s) security needs. On the other hand, the potential Biden administration wants to re-enter the JCPOA, discounting Iran’s pernicious policies and acts. This is not a nuanced issue for Israel, it’s black and white. I hope that Americans appreciate that Iran threatens them directly and also indirectly, by turning America’s closest European allies against it.
