Trump Abandons Iran Nuclear Deal

Editor

Following US President Donald Trump’s May 8 announcement pulling the US out of the Iran nuclear deal, there has been intense political and diplomatic activity to deal with its consequences. Not surprisingly, there is palpable anger in Iran at such US duplicity reflected in massive rallies in Tehran last month that even the CNN was forced to admit were some of the largest in recent history.

Barring minor exceptions — Zionist Israel and Wahhabi Arabia that applauded Trump — other reactions have been widely negative. Russia, China, and Turkey expressed dismay as did European states Germany, Britain, and France. The last three see their economic interests being seriously affected by the sanctions Trump has threatened to reimpose.

There has been intense diplomatic activity in Europe that purports to save the nuclear deal referred to as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA). European officials have expressed concern at Trump’s unilateral withdrawal from the deal and have vowed to create mechanisms to protect the interests of their companies doing business with Iran. How this will come about is difficult to envisage since most major European companies had not entered into any agreements even after the deal was signed in July 2015 for fear of US reprisals. Many major European companies have vast interests in the US. Would they jeopardize these for the sake of Iran?

Iran has scrupulously adhered to its obligations as verified by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the agency charged with confirming Iran’s compliance. But Trump’s real reason is not Iran’s non-compliance although he even lied about that relying on the nonsensical claims of the Zionist terrorist and war criminal, Benjamin Netanyahu, on April 30. Trump’s real problem is that he does not like the deal at all calling it a “horrible one-sided deal that should have never, ever been made.” The other reason is that it was his predecessor Barack Obama who signed the deal and Trump is on a mission to destroy everything he achieved. Trump’s position was predicated on a suite of lies, the key one being, “The Iranian regime [sic] is the leading state sponsor of terror. It exports dangerous missiles, fuels conflicts across the Middle East, and supports terrorist proxies and militias such as Hezbollah, Hamas, the Taliban, and al-Qaeda.”

Even his own advisors have dismissed Trump’s allegations about Iran being a “sponsor of terror.” Iran is the victim of US-Saudi-Zionist sponsored terrorist groups and has made enormous sacrifices fighting them. This in fact adds to US-Israel angst because Iran has frustrated their regime change plans in Syria.

In reacting to Trump’s announced withdrawal from the nuclear deal, the Rahbar, Imam Seyyed Ali Khamenei cautioned Iranian officials to be wary of Western promises. He advised them to get ironclad guarantees before accepting anything the Europeans promise. These are wise words that Iranian officials must pay close attention to. Under no circumstances should Iran entertain the idea of opening discussions about its defensive missile program or its regional role. The Islamic Republic should not fall for the good cop bad cop routine of Europe and America.

Instead of relying on European promises, the Islamic Republic should pivot toward Russia, China, and Turkey. These countries have also suffered and continue to suffer US sanctions as well as other disruptive behavior. China has already signaled it will not accept America’s unilateralism and intends to continue doing business with Iran that currently stands at $37 billion annually.

Russia and Turkey have similarly indicated they will continue to trade with Iran. The free trade pact between Iran and the Eurasian Economic Union, inclusive of Kazakhstan, Belarus, Armenia, and Kyrgyzstan will further boost Iran-Russia trade. Currently at a mere $1.7 billion, this needs to be expanded.

It is important to find mechanisms to bypass the US dollar such as bilateral agreements to trade in each other’s local currency as well as developing the petro-yuan. Should some countries manage to do that, it would end the dollar’s hegemony and hasten the demise of US gangsterism. Trump’s erratic behavior may well lead to the end of US exceptionalism and disabuse the Washington warlords of the notion of superpower status.