Monday, May 29, 2006

U.S. Urges Financial Sanctions On Iran

The Bush regime is now seeking to impose financial restrictions on the Iranians if diplomatic efforts fail to stop the Iranian nuclear enrichment programme.

The plan is designed to curtail the financial freedom of every Iranian official, individual and entity the Bush administration considers connected not only to nuclear enrichment efforts but to terrorism, government corruption, suppression of religious or democratic freedom, and violence in Iraq, Lebanon, Israel and the Palestinian territories. It would restrict the Tehran government's access to foreign currency and global markets, shut its overseas accounts and freeze assets held in Europe and Asia.

The United States, which has imposed unilateral sanctions on Iran for nearly three decades, would shoulder few of the costs of its ambitious new proposal. But internal U.S. assessments suggest that the sanctions could not hurt Tehran without causing significant economic pain for Washington's friends. That calculation has made the plan a difficult sell, especially in capitals such as Rome and Tokyo, which import significant quantities of Iranian oil.

This is further proof, were any needed, that the Bush regime really don't have any plan for dealing with the Iranians.

It is highly unlikely that anyone, apart from zealots like Blair, would be persuaded to vote for such a plan.

Many country's are highly reliant on Iranian oil and also fear that the US is simply sucking them into another war in the Middle East.

Moreover, this insane plan seems to ignore the Iranian ability to respond. Perhaps Bush is insane enough to want such a response in order to justify further conflict.

It seems unlikely that the rest of the world will be insane enough to facilitate his wish.

Indeed, Europeans are urging America to hold face to face talks with Iran on this issue, a move that the Bushites have always rejected.

One European, speaking on condition of anonymity said, "The sanctions could make Iran miserable, and Iran can respond by making everyone miserable back. In the end, the whole world is miserable and Iran gets to keep its nuclear program."

As I say, Bush actually has no plan at all.

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