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On May 8, President Donald Trump officially announced that Washington is withdrawing from the Iran nuclear deal because it had failed to protect America’s national security interest. Trump directed his administration to immediately begin the process of re-imposing related sanctions against Iran, including in the energy, petrochemical, and financial sectors.
He said that the agreement had failed to deal with Iran’s missile program, had given Teheran access to cash, which it allegedly uses for its own extraterritorial operations, including funding Hezbollah, supporting the Assad government in Syria, Shia militias in Iraq and the Houthis in Yemen. Trump pointed out that his decision is also based on intelligence provided by Israel alleging past efforts by Iran to develop nuclear weapons.
The White House also released an initial list of demands that Iran needs to meet if the possibility of relaunching the nuclear agreement is to be considered.
On May 9, Trump also threatened with “very severe consequences” if Iran restarts its nuclear program, which was suspended in the framework of the deal from which the US is withdrawing.
At the same time, the key US ally in the Middle East, Israel, carried out a series of strikes on alleged Iranian targets in Syria.
On May 8, Israel launched missiles at the area of al-Kiswah near Damacsus. Two of them were intercepted by the Syrian Air Defense Forces (SADF), but the rest of them hit their target.
On May 9, using as a pretext rocket shelling from southern Syria aimed at the Golan Heights, Israel carried out a massive strike on Iranian forces’ positions as well as positions of the SADF in southern Syria, the Damascus countryside and the province of Homs.
According to the Russian Defense Ministry, Israel launched more than 70 air-to-surface and tactical missiles, more than a half of which were intercepted by the SADF.
According to Israel, the Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) launched no less than 20 rockets at Israeli targets in the Golan Heights earlier on the same day thus surprisingly resulting in no casualties but forcing Israel to respond.
Mohammad Javad Jamali Nobandegani, a member of the Iranian Parliament’s national security and foreign policy committee, described the Golan Heights shelling as a false flag. He said that Israel’s accusations against Iran are “a lie” and added that “Israel’s history of carrying out unprovoked attacks in Syria has been well-documented.”
Following the strike on Syria, Israeli Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman claimed that nearly all Iranian infrastructure in the country had been destroyed. However, considering photos and videos from the ground such a result seems unlikely.
Washington supported the Israeli move by saying that “the Iranian regime cannot be trusted. Israel absolutely has a sovereign right to defend itself and we support them in whatever efforts they have in order to defend themselves”.
Summing up the recent developments it becomes clear that the Middle East is on the brink on a new round of escalation. Israel and the US are undertaking coordinated efforts to pressure Iran into abandoning its sovereign foreign policy in the region and key programs, like the missile program, which it sees as a key factor in its national security policy. This goal cannot be achieved by solely diplomatic and economic measures so the Israeli-US block is steadily expanding its, so far limited, military actions.
Funny how ONLY Israel has the right to defend itself and its defence consists of attacking people who constitute no real threat.
Every NATION has a Right to DEFEND its SELF
except Syria and Iran .
Any country that isn’t a HATO member or vassal.
They even disallow Syria to be able to defend itself.
They threaten Iran if Iran retaliate for the attacks …
They are just arrogant worst dictators from a country that cannot even defeat HAMAs but can order Russia what to do ….
Americans and Russians are lost a lot.
Now, everyone knows that Americans have no word and that Russians can’t be trusted.
Also, I suspect that the globalists are killing slowly USA. Once, I saw a documentary on Boeing Dreamliner and learnt that most parts are made in Eiurope and japan and that the aircraft is only assembled in USA.
Also, the last F-35 is made by a corporation of nations or rather.
No S-300 to Syria.it’s mean more Strikes from Israel.
They didn’t provide S-300 to iran until they realised that iran can now build such things,
If you look at iranian S-300s you’ll find out that they are much more complex, much more modified and much more capable than a standard S-300.
They don’t give iran stuff because they are afraid of iranian making their own copy,
Also syria’s air defences are enhanced by iranian specialists and they have proved themselves quite effective!
https://twitter.com/IvanSidorenko1/status/995083149695733760
ISRAEL is in a PARANOID MODE
My friend went to USA. he said to me that in USA, fruits and vegetables are super expensive. Once, he asked for bread and the waiter said that they don’t have bread, only soft bread.
I said to him. Of course, USA is shit. Europe is way more better.
Syrian air defense have shot down almost all Israeli missile…I have seen a video in you tube ( Guardian news) from the Syrian defense ministre..in which Pantsir system shot down all israeli ground to ground missile near Golan border!
you need something for your eyes….there is no Russian system in the hands of the Syrians which can take out missiles or bombs…..forget it…. the Pantsir is junk…. you saw the video of one clearly being destroyed by an incoming HARM or whatever the Israelis used to neutralize it and all the others which fired or tried to fire were blown up as well….
Junk is to waste 228 cruise missile ( USA+Israel) for nothing!..no significant damage..air defense works well!
The Pantsir that was destroyed had no crew – you can actually see them on the video.
It was either non-functional or it was out of ammo, but in either case I would assume that the smart thing is to exit the vehicle because the crew is now defenceless.
They, since they control Hollywood can make any kind of special effects, so they can even make this looks real that Pantsir b1 is ‘destroyed’. Why Pantsir, why not a self propelled howitzer, mortar, or tank? Because they FEAR Pantsir so well.
@ds; ‘Pantsir is junk’ you say?? In the recent US attack on Syria (103 missiles), the Pantsir’s alone scored 23 hits out of the 25 fired, having the best success rate of all the Syrian defensive missile systems used. Your side can’t be expected to match that of course, but perhaps that’s because your side’s expansionist agenda necessitates that it spend the bulk of it’s missile making budget on OFFENSIVE weaponry
Yeah.. for a stalled, an emptied weaponry and inactive Pantsir.. lol.. and those bastards israhellis braggs about it..!
Hahaha.. it’s like what they do on a daily basis to the unarmed Palestinians..!
Trump said Iran to not support to Taliban and Al-Qaeda, LOL https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/0b6f61997c02a47f9bcd63a5702a8874293a9211c111b5c44b85a53ac37e80ee.jpg
Just what I would require. Iran must stop hindering the free navigation of gunboats with our Marines in the Persian Gulf.
Stop it Iran!!!
This here is not freedom, this is dictatorship!
https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/ff465cd0dbde9d8318cb60ebdca47e10d47691100d87e02e5ce6801422d70405.jpg
Your gunboats should go home
@tommy jenson???; are you trying to be humorous? the GUN boats were commandeered in IRANIAN waters. UNCLOS states that the transgressed nation reserves the right to make a determination as to whether or not such transgression constituted interference in it’s peace and security. The boats were caught near Farsi Island which houses an Iranian military base. The US first claimed the boats went off course due to mechanical problems, but then later claimed it was due to navigational error, perhaps because the mechanical problem excuse didn’t (pardon the pun) hold water.
And Putin agrees with all of that.
It’s funny, people keep saying the US “withdrew” from the treaty. They didn’t “withdraw” from the treaty. They broke the treaty. They are violating the treaty (and a UN security council resolution which the US helped to pass). “Withdraw” is a weasel word to camouflage the basic reality that the US considers treaties “nothing but a piece of paper”.
Not like that’s new information, ask the native Americans all about it.
This is factually incorrect. President Obama choose to advance this agreement with a Executive Order rather than having it ratified by the Senate, the usual path for binding treaties. Actual treaties are much more difficult to break while Executive Orders can be undone with the stroke of a pen.
There are three problems with that. First problem is, while domestically Obama may have just signed an executive order, at the UN they passed a Security Council resolution making the Iran deal mandated by international law. Second problem is, so you’re saying the US was lying when they went into the thing in the first place by fake-signing. That’s not an improvement. Third problem is, the commitment was still made, and the US clearly expected Iran to honour its side; they purported to have made the deal. If you make and commit to a deal and then decide to stop honouring the terms of the deal you have broken the deal. Sure, the way Obama did it made it functionally easier for Trump or whoever to break it in terms of what’s institutionally do-able. But it doesn’t create a new category of “withdrawing” in which deciding to go back on what you agreed to and signed is sort of value-neutral. Essentially, you’re talking as if the US made a treaty with itself, so failing to live up to it is purely an internal matter.
NAFTA has a clause in it which says it’s OK to withdraw if you give six months’ notice. Trump threatening to use that clause if he doesn’t get his way on trade is arguably dumb and/or an asshole move, but it wouldn’t be breaking the trade agreement. I haven’t heard that there’s anything like that in the Iran deal. It was certainly supposed to be binding as hell on the Iranians.
The argument is technically correct in terms of how our system defines a treaty. However, if Iran withdrew from the agreement based on the same argument it would cost them dearly. It can’t honestly be said that Iran would win the “withdrawal from an agreement vs. breaking a treaty” argument. The technical argument only wins internally. We believe Trump did not break a treaty and that deceives us into not seeing the damage done. It’s not even our prestige or international opinion that is hurt. It’s actually our ability to rely on other parties keeping deals we want to see enforced.
It’s obvious if we wanted to stay in this agreement we would have gone to war over it. The stakes are that high. Our reasoning for going to war would not have been questioned either because the Security Council passed the agreement therefore recognizing it as international law. Unilaterally withdrawing is especially problematic whereas it would not have been so bad if there was first an appearance of talking to Iran or going to the UN. The word of US is now next to worthless and that goes for for allies too not just enemies.
Smart one.
Yes, who in their right mind would even consider a deal with the U.S. government? They have never kept their word on paper or off, all countries should stop dealing with this entity pronto; turn your back to the monster and stop feeding the evil.
One day you are an ally the next you are being bombed, this is the only thing you can count on if you deal with them.
The invader, occupier, rapist has now started attacking neighbors of the victim who have declared their intention to restore the home to the rightful owner. It was bad enough that the home invader seems to think that the land actually belonged to him 2000+ years ago, but they now have the police chief, news media, courts and judges in their pocket also. The neighbors must band together and apply pressure slowly and unrelentingly, like a boa constrictor, until the home invader/occupier feels so much pressure, that he makes a fatal misstep that will lead to his eternal eviction . .
Israel won’t keep getting away with this nonsense. Its people have been kicked out of 109 countries 359 times for a reason, and we’re waking up to it now. https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/8afab3057a3969c4cf295b6ccdd7b49ea995bbe665706468e22e728f0a16227a.gif
VIVA IRAN ! FUCK ISRAEL !!!
Iranian Military announced a few days ago they intend to test Intercontinental Missiles in the coming military exercises in Summer. The first Target will be GreatSatan.
For years the MSM and western take on Iran has just baffled me it has no logic. Hell if they had full up Nukes, more than Israel, would they use them? Would the KSA if they had them? I kind of intuitively know money is a bigger factor in these escapades than any one talks about much. Here is a post that tells the story way better than I can.
The US only looks like a crackpot in this affair because none of the parties involved will say what the actual problem is: Money.
The “Iran Nuclear Deal” had bugger all to do with Iran building nukes. Iran wasn’t building nukes and they all knew it. The deal was all about …. the reward for not building the nukes they weren’t building: i.e. lifting the US sanctions and opening up fantastic investment opportunities.
But Iran trades in any currency except USD. That’s it. No US dollars. Full stop. It’s why the US sanctioned them in the first place. It’s why the negotiations took 9 years – Iran does not trade in US dollars – EVUH. (Those guys know how to hold a grudge.)
So pre-deal, it was barter and rubles with Russia, barter and rupees with India etc. Since the sanctions were lifted it’s …. drum roll…. Euros! Now trade, deals and debt repayments to/with Iran is in Euros.
That’s what Trump is referring to when he whines “They violated the spirit of the deal” and “It’s a very bad deal for the US.” Yes – it is.
It’s a nice deal for Iran (they can trade and prosper.) It’s a nice deal for trading partners (they can trade and invest.) It’s an especially nice deal for the EU (they get trade and invest AND all the dealing is in their currency!) Big big smiles in EU – this is real “money-for-nothing.” Everyone else trading with Iran is buying and selling Euros to do that trading, and because the Euro is their own currency – they don’t have to pay to buy/sell Euros. Nice biiiig savings – cherry on the cake there.
But the US gets squat! Because they don’t trade with Iran (well, some pipsqueak stuff) AND … they’re not getting all the cross-border transaction fees because the trade is not in USD. …. 9% every time dollars are bought or sold – that’s a helluva lot of just-print-more they just aren’t getting!
So what the US is doing is trying to force Iran’s trading partners to pay them in fines the billions they would have been getting had all this wheeling and dealing been going on in USD. (The billions that are going to the EU instead.)
Rhetoric is just noise.
Follow the money!
This was a comment by someone calling themselves Cat Pillar. Frankly again now, suddenly the whole thing makes tons more sense.