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Subscribe to RSSThe United States, the European Union and the U.N. have imposed tough economic sanctions against Iran –- blocking access to the international banking system and hurting sales of Iranian crude oil -– as a way to persuade Tehran to abandon its nuclear program.
In the short term, the harsh sanctions have had an impact on Iran’s economy -– inflation has gone through the roof, and the unemployment rate is staggering, especially among young Iranians. Prices of consumer goods have doubled, tripled, even quadrupled in some cases, according to consumers.
The business community is in disarray, and as things keep getting worse, it’s all people are talking about.
Reuters
CLICK ON THE GRAPHIC ABOVE TO ENLARGE THE IMAGE. Iran Sanctions: Key areas affected by sanctions imposed by the international community against Iran.
Barely getting by
At the Tajrish Bazaar in North Tehran on a recent afternoon, Ahmed, a 31-year-old unemployed man, poured his heart out to me. Speaking on the condition of anonymity, as all those interviewed for this story did because of the political sensitivity of speaking out in Iran, he told me his story.
He said he has been unemployed for the past year, doing odd jobs, and that he barely makes enough to feed himself, let alone his wife and children. The lack of jobs and the extraordinary rise in food prices have hamstrung him. But he was most worried about what the crippled economy is doing to the youth of Iran, who he said are turning to crime and drugs if they can’t find work.
In Iran, appearance is everything. How you dress and wear your beard says a lot about your politics.
As I talked to Ahmed, who was dressed in Western-style clothes, another man looked on disapprovingly. He had a full dark black beard and was dressed in conservative black clothes. He was listening to everything Ahmed said and wanted to talk to us, although he declined to give us his name.
He said that people like Ahmed were making excuses and were lazy. He argued that the economy had become tougher, but no more so than the Iranian people were used to over the years. He blamed the U.S. for the bad economy, accusing President Barack Obama of unfairly trying to squeeze Iran. But he said that in the end, the rough economic times had taught Iran to be more self-reliant.
“We need to tighten our belts for now and weather this storm with the West as we have always done. And we will be victorious again,” he said.
NBC's Ali Arouzi reported from Istanbul, Turkey in April during the most recent meeting between world leaders and Iranian representatives to discuss Iran's nuclear intentions.
New sanctions' real impact
The most recent international sanctions have targeted Iran’s crude oil and banking sectors. In addition to harsh U.S. measures, 27 countries in the European Union agreed in January to ban Iranian oil imports –- giving countries until July 1 to terminate their deals. They also put a freeze on assets belonging to the Central Bank of Iran and a ban on trade in gold and other precious metals.
Anthony Cordesman, who holds the Burke chair in strategy at the Center for Strategic and International Studies and is a long-time Iran watcher, said that despite years of sanctions against Iran, the most recent ones have had the greatest impact –- partly because they target banking.
The banking sanctions “have had the most popular, or broad, impact. Right now Iran can’t even operate on the international clearinghouse.”
“I think that this is the first time that sanctions have really had a major bite. Up to now, they have all been fairly limited,” said Cordesman. “But beginning in November, and it’s just beginning to bite, you can’t bank internationally effectively, you can’t move money. You don’t have a stable conversion rate –- but the rial [Iran’s currency] is way down, so your savings are of very uncertain value unless you’ve invested in property. You don’t know what’s going to happen to your business. You have to be very cautious about how much money you can spend on a marriage for your children or their education.”
He added that we really won’t begin to see the full impact of the sanctions until summer, when they have all gone into effect. “So everyone knows it’s getting worse, but no one knows yet how serious.”
Vali Nasr, the incoming dean at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies, explained how these sanctions differ from 30 years of sanctions that mostly targeted imports into Iran.
At schools, in shops, and on the streets of big cities and small towns, daily life plays out in Iran.
“The new set of sanctions targeting Iran’s oil industry, central bank, ability to conduct international financial transactions, are of a different nature largely because they are going after the government’s source of income –- the ability to sell oil or receive money for oil,” said Nasr. “So these have had an impact because they have caused extensive inflation inside Iran. They’ve caused the government to scrap a variety of projects, which has caused unemployment.
“There is no doubt that economic hardship has become much more pronounced. And there is on top of that a layer of uncertainty. So there is significant economic hardship that is hitting the lower rung of society and the Iranian middle class,” said Nasr.
Back in Tajrish Bazaar, Roya, a well-dressed woman in her 60s wearing a Hermes scarf for a hijab and carrying a Louis Vuitton bag, explained how even she is being hit by the economic uncertainty. While she is a wealthy Iranian living in the leafy suburbs of affluent North Tehran, she said her purchasing power has been halved by the struggling economy.
“Everything has doubled in price,” Roya said. “My son lives in Los Angeles, and it’s cheaper to go shopping there -- amazing. Things have become difficult for me even though I am among the better off Iranians. I can’t imagine how difficult it is for folks downtown.”
When I asked her what the solution was, she replied sarcastically, “That’s for the country’s economists to figure out.”
Close to the bone
For international relations analysts, like Cordesman and Nasr, getting reliable information on what’s going on in Iran is very difficult. Both analysts said that basically all of their information on the impact of the current sanctions is anecdotal.
“You have to rely on anecdotal information especially because the Iranian government does not have an interest in revealing how painful the sanctions are. They may admit that they are hurting, but they don’t want to put numbers out there,” said Nasr.
But it’s not all doom and gloom for the regime. President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad often touts during public events that Iran has a record $90 billion in foreign exchange reserves, as well as untold reserves of gold, silver and precious stones.
Even though experts estimate that Iran has seen a decline in sales of about 300, 000 barrels of oil per day as a result of the sanctions, this has been offset by a 15 percent rise in crude prices.
And the effect and pain of sanctions have not been distributed evenly. While blue-collar workers in downtown Tehran can expect to eat meat once a month only as a treat, North Tehran is awash with Mercedes and Porsche SUVs costing as much as $500,000 after the import tax has been paid.
Will the sanctions achieve goal?
So the question remains as to whether the sanctions will achieve their goal: curtailing Iran’s nuclear program.
“The sanctions have had an impact of getting Iran to the negotiating table. Iran came to Istanbul [the site of the latest diplomatic talks] with much more seriousness than in the past,” said Nasr.
But he added that the sanctions alone won’t be enough for Iran’s leaders to give up a program they have invested heavily in –- both financially and in terms of building the nuclear program as a point of national pride. “Just because the Iranian public dislikes this regime –- that does not mean that they dislike the nuclear program. They don’t see this as the regime’s nuclear program, they see it as Iran’s nuclear program,” said Nasr.
In order for the sanctions to work, Nasr explained, the U.S. and other parties at the table need to give something back -– otherwise it would just seem like Iran is surrendering to the West’s demands, not an easy sell at home.
“Until now, the whole approach has been stick-heavy and carrot-poor. And the sticks are very explicit and the carrots are vague. And maybe that was necessary to get their attention and to show that we meant business. But now going forward -– [the U.S.] can’t ask [Iran] for concrete concessions –- like stop this, stop that -– but not put concrete things on the table, like this sanction will be lifted. If all the concessions are on the Iranian side and what they get is just a promissory note, I don’t think it will fly.”
“End of the day, these two countries have not had a single thing they’ve agreed on or done together in the last 30 years. So you couldn’t expect them to actually be able to conclude a deal without some sort of reciprocal, trust-building, concrete steps going forward.”
Msnbc.com’s Petra Cahill contributed to this report.
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Leave a Comment:
Everything has doubled in price here in US as well... so who put the sanctions on us?
Max...Stick to the facts, why don't you? Things haven't doubled in price where I live. By the way youy forgot to make an over the top clam blaming your misery on the President.
The Federal Reserve in the form of "quantitative easing".
Gas is double what it was. Remember Romney blaming Obama for that? Milk is double what it was not long ago. So are many milk products like ice cream. Food prices in general have skyrocketed.
Max^108: well take into account the fact we have devalued the dollar plus the high price of fuel and ours makes sense and has nothing to do with sanctions.
Summer is coming in Iran, maybe they can save energy by frying their own Bacon and Eggs on the sidewalk?? Oh wait, they don't eat PIG and will have no eggs to fry except the lunitics brain running the country.
Build another missle, build another cardboard replica of a real drone, LOL, waste you resources........
"TEHRAN – The economy here is in shambles" . . . . welcome to America . . . . .
Where are they getting the power to make the plutonium? Or the water to cool their nuk plant?
We used the power from the Grand Cooley dam to build our first Bombs. they have nothing close. If they are building one, it must be tacking 1/2 of all their resources
Folks, Matrix is feeding you lies to keep you under control again. They have reached Zion and they are about to crush the last few unplugged humans. If you are still a sleep, take the red pill and wake up!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=goFxos6tz-o&feature=related
The bankers' hidden worry about Islam is the rejection of usury in Islam. Islam is spreading fast and if people reject interest, then bankers will be out of business soon. Bankers' real worry is based on their greed. Entire population is their slave and they are worried that this may come to an end!
This is the typical game they play. They find reasons to accuse the "enemy" in order to justify economic sanctions on them. After the economy is decimated and regime has fallen, they will come in as the saviors to show how they fix the economy. But the real aim is to control the economy and the money supply and make sure that every breathing soul is in debt to them.
This is why they killed Jesus Christ when he turned over the tables of money changers in the temple. Andrew Jackson, Abraham Lincoln, JFK...
This is why Israel cannot find peace with the Arabs.
This is why entire United States and Europe and Japan are in debt to the bankers for money that the bankers have created out of nothing. Google for "How do banks create money", and learn about fractional reserve banking and understand how Islam and western banking system is at odds with each other. Learn yourself how deep the rabbit hole goes.
Do you now see why banker controlled media is feeding you propaganda about Islam? Do you now understand why Iran cannot be allowed to have nukes but Israel can?
Folks, it is all about money! Iran is one of the few countries that does not have a Rothschild central bank and that is why we apply economic sanctions to them!
Hear Thomas Jefferson:
If the American people ever allow banks to issue their currency, first by inflation and then by deflation, the banks and [bank owned] corporations which will grow up around them will deprive the people of all property, until their children wake homeless on the continent their fathers conquered.
We are a battery to them. We work for them. Teachers, lawyers, engineers, everyone works for the few in this system. This is why rich gets richer. This is why banks get bailed out tax payer expense, and they turn around and still confiscate property through foreclosure. They do not tell the little guy that foreclosure is his destiny because the money to pay existing debt does not exist, thus it cannot be earned... The matrix is feeding you lies. Yet some of you are so dependent, so connected to it, you will fight to defend your own slavery.
Interest free economy is the way to go and the media will not let you realize it. They keep you busy, they keep you occupied so that you do not have time or desire to think to break free.
@mj - and where from are we taking the $1 trillion per year to run our insanely overblown defense and war programs? We are the biggest warmonger in the world, pissing away more money on defense than the rest of the world combined.
I guess to Ayatollah found out his threat of atomic weapons, was hoax. They are chiken8765 and be atomic waste in less than 30 days glowing all night long.
There is nothing to compare our two economies. Even though the american economy is down, it pales in comparison to how bad the average Iranian has it.
Max
Try our over blown Public employee Pension and Healthcare system! we spend more on all forms of healthcare, than on the Military.
Public employees (From US Senators in Washington down to the toll booth collector) all reap the benefits from the backs of the private industry workers. Public Workers get free healthcare and wonderful pension (Double dipping is still legal). While in the Private industries, the average worker must pay for their own savings and healthcare.
Public workers complain that they have to contribute 5% of their healthcare and pension cost, while private workers pay 100%.
The average public worker retires on full Pension (Half Pay) after only working 25 years! (they can retire at the ripe old age of 45) (double dipping starts at all levels of government, from the toll collector up to Senators, mayors etc)
The average private worker retires on Social security after the age 65.
Fix the system and stop funding the over bloated public Pension and Healthcare system. Let the Public workers live on social security and medicare just like the Private workers.
Eric - I'm all for it. These folks have fantastic benefits. US government is waaaay overstaffed - no wonder they constantly keep coming up with more BS for the rest of us to follow.
In Iran at McCamels..it cost 500,000 rials..just for one 12 oz soda, one big McCamel and a small order of dried dates.
500,000 rials = $40.68 (USD)
Does goat pink slime come with that meal? Can you supersize it?
@Eric- NY
Umm...I have worked in the public and private sectors. I get paid better in the private sector. I don't pay 100% of my health and retirement and never have. I paid 30% of both when I worked for the government. I am curious where you get your information from?
second thought, I'll just remain silent
Gee, the sanctions are hurting the citizens or Iran and not the government. Who would have thought that would happen???
@Max^108
If you stuck to facts and left out the BS rhetoric it might be easier to take you seriously.
“End of the day, these two countries have not had a single thing they’ve agreed on or done together in the last 30 years. So you couldn’t expect them to actually be able to conclude a deal without some sort of reciprocal, trust building, concrete steps going forward.”
Trust the Iranians, after they broke every rule in the book by holding our diplomats hostage for a year and a half?
Get real. They know that once they get a nuclear weapon, they can use it as leverage to get anything they want - using it as a 'threat' to intimidate the World.
Max^108 "Gas is double what it was. Remember Romney blaming Obama for that? Milk is double what it was not long ago. So are many milk products like ice cream. Food prices in general have skyrocketed."
Isn't it nice that the administration leaves food and energy prices out when they calculate 'core inflation'?
They would have us believe that inflation is not a problem, but every struggling family knows that's not true.
ROY WILSON-336103: They can't trust either after we overthrew their democratic government in 1953 and installed a dictator.
This was an excellent article on the sanctions, but I don't think a couple of points were well-explained:
1) The Iranian economy is extremely "top-down." This is because every time an Iranian company becomes significantly profitable, a Revolutionary Guard higher-up buys a controlling interest in the company for pennies. This has been going on for years and years and has resulted in most of the the profitable companies being quasi-government owned in a peculiar Iranian brand of corruption. People try to keep their enterprises small or hobble them with phony debt to keep the Revolutionary Guard from wanting them. But if you go back and look at the list of sanctions, you will see that they are aimed at these Revolutionary Guard "entrepreneurs" much more than at the Iranian people.
2) The massive Achilles Heel of Iran is its petroleum industry. The problem is not the crude that they sell, but their refinery capacity. Iran can only produce about 40% of the refinery products --- gasoline, kerosese, diesel, jet fuel, benzine, etc --- that it consumes. The rest they are forced, mostly by the sanctions, to trade crude oil for refinery products, usually at unfavorable terms because of the expense of transportation and the time lag for delivery. While Iran's nuclear facilities are extremely hardened and would be almost impossible to damage to any major extent, their oil refineries are large, sprawling, and almost impossible to defend effectively. And add to that the hundreds of transshipment points, POL storage facilities, pipeline pumping stations, and thousands of miles of pipelines, and you have a situation where the already fragile Iraniann economy could be brought completely to its knees in less than four weeks by the simple destruction of its refineries and crude export facilities.
Iran is a difficult country to deal with. When the Shah was deposed, 10% of Iran's population marched in the streets in anti-Shah protests in one day. It doesn't sound that big, but if 4 million Americans every took to the street, they could overturn any elected government. And these people were putting their lives and the lives of their families on the line to get rid of the Shah. The Iranians fear that if the current government is deposed, that Britain and the US will seek a reimposition of a Shah-like repressive government. This means that they will put up with a lot in order to keep this from happening. They simply have no love for the Shah and the governments that put him in power. Especially they hate Israel because the Mossad trained the brutal and repressive SAVAK that murdered hundreds of thousands of Iranians.
And it becomes more complicated if you look at a map and see that the Straits of Hormuz are the territorial waters of Iran and Oman (an ally) and that they could, perfectly legally, shut down the Straits to international shipping without violating any treaty or law. And any ship that tried to run a shut down Straits would be under constant fire from hundreds of missile and gun sites all long the straits. We simply do not have a ship or even a fleet with the muscle to try it without taking huge losses.
Any really overt military action against Iran would almost certainly result in the shutting of the Straits and major attacks against any US or British capital ships in the Persian Gulf. The Gulf would be a very bad place to be caught in such an attack because it is shallow and has very limited room to maneuver. Fleets absolutely require the "anonymity of the oceans" in order to survive and be effective. They would have to exit the Gulf prior to any attack. If it were Israel to attack, even without US knowle3dge or permission, the Iranians would still most likely shut the Straits and attack American ships and interests because they see Israel as only a proxy of the US.
The sanctions are working, but especially so in that they have not stepped over whatever "line in the sand" that the Iranians have drawn for a response. This is the result of good intelligence, a complex diplomatic environment, a military that is training and preparing to counter the Iranians, and some very fancy diplomatic dancing. Regardless of the eventual outcome, books will be written about the current situation for decades.
ROY WILSON-336103
Finally, something I can agree w/you 100%.
ROY WILSON-336103
When did Obama blame Romney for this one? Another made up fact from the Righty Faux News Junkies....
Yes.. When former President Bush did this, it was nice of them wasn't it.
How many times do I have to say this... President Obama cannot control the price of gas/oil in this country anymore than Former President Bush can. The GOP tell us... "wallstreet speculators have nothing to do with it, it's the law of supply and demand, and our oil corporations still need american's to PAY more in taxes (4 billion worth) so they can maintain their highest profit margins ever.
Face some harsh facts... We the American People can control the cost of energy in this country. We can use 'less appliances' to get the job done, we can carpool, we can demand cheaper reusable energy resources, we can turn the lights off when don't use them, and the list goes on and on. If we have to 'blame' someone yet again, start with ourselves......
_______________________________________________________
The US and our Allies are doing the right thing here. Its a shame the people of Iran have to suffer at the hands of a religious dictator has chosen to develop a nuclear weapon vs the will of the people.
ItsAboutTime-3704531
Perhaps if you weren't so anxious to go off on a partisian rant you'd actually take the time to read the comment you're responding to.
Folks: there's a thing out there called Google. Perhaps you've heard of it?
The concept of "core inflation" (PCE) -- the aggregate of price growth excluding food and energy, computed monthly -- was developed as an economic measuring tool in... 1975, but was only made the Fed's preferred measuring tool on 17 February 2000.
It's adoption is NOT a partisan issue. It was done by the Fed internally, at no direction of President Clinton. (Yeah, I said Clinton. He was still Prez. So cut out the O & W malarky!)
PCE (Personal consumption expenditures price index) is not a cost of living index. The problem with PCE is that it doesn't account for substitute goods (and of course, it doesn't include food & fuel).
From 1919 forward, CPI (or the Consumer Price Index) approximates the cost of living... and is not a real price index. The problem with CPI is that it overestimates inflation.
The two tools should not be used interchangably. They do not measure the same thing any more than a thermometer and a ruler do. Sure, they might both be metric (or standard...) but that's as far as it goes.
Backcountry164
Oh I see.... so by stating this:
That's making the ENTIRE comment partisian. First, please go back and re read the entire comment. Next, isn't it kind of ironic if someone tells you to do something, but they have yet to post anything of value that is even remotely related to this entire article? Short Bus today?
There is class warfare for you. The wealthy have successfully convinced you that your middle class brethren are the problem.
Fixing the system should consist of elevating the benefits of private sector employees to those of the public sector, not the other way around, you dolt. Why would you want to devalue the greatest asset this country has? The middle class??? You make absolutely ZERO sense!
The corporations can afford to pay and benefit their employees better, we just need to focus on the real evil - and it's not that public sector employees can live a decent life.
Idiots like you are so frustrating.
@ItsAboutTime-3704531
And your response has what to do with me pointing out your mistake? Or do you even have a clue to what I was referring? Probably not, I suppose you didn't like the fact that I wasn't agreeing with everything you said so you rushed to make another rant. I was only commenting on the one short phrase you made. That's why I quoted it in my response. You do understand how message boards work right?
Short bus? Yeah I suspect you know all about short buses.
Iranians are in the same boat as those of oil importing nations in Europe and other places.
Greedy Saudi beasts and their pals have manipulated oil prices higher and higher by choking of Iranian oil supplies.
Just as in Iraq, oil rich Sunni seventh century bigoted Saudi barbaric and beastly rulers and their Sunni pals (Kuwait, UAE and others), oil companies, lobbyists and Jewish mad people (Netanyahos and co) are repeating their seventh century desert dances through their cheap US puppets on Iran and Syria.
They invented WMDs in Iraq and led to problems of Iraqis. Oil prices zoomed from $30 to $145 a barrel.
Repetition of Iraqi war dramas in Iran and Syria to increase oil prices by Saudis, oil companies and their lobbyists and their puppet politicians.
Slowly oil supplies from Iran are being choked. Now it is free for all and at the mercy of Saudi & co.
Wait for the oil prices to shoot up to $200 a barrel this time.
Talk about ungrateful people and backstabbers: you have the Sunni Saudi beastly rulers and co!
Half of world problems including economic ones will be solved if Saudi Arabia is wiped out of the map.
British invented it and US sustained it. Now it is time for them to wipe it out for world peace.
haha - your on the right lines - but don't blame the Saudi's only, which fat US or other Western fat cat gets a share of these increase in profits? you think only the Saudi families get it? HA.. the Jews (in the US, not Israel) probably earn more than anyone on these wars etc..
The person that pulls the strings isn't the guy running the country.. it's the group of men who got him there in the first place, both in Iran and the USA.. food for thought..
What's with you guys that make up lines like "wipe it out for world peace", or "start a war for peace"? You guys crack me up. Well....I have to go eat my breakfast to go on a hunger strike ..... later.
Max^108 Comment collapsed by the community "Everything has doubled in price here in US as well... so who put the sanctions on us?"
So why was this collapsed? People should be able to express their opinions. Let's stop stifling 'free speech'.
The solution is obviously to overthrow the perverted and perverse Islamic Revolution and the pyscho rec guard.Bu there are never elctions to vote out this Islamic terrorst ayatollah party.The president or any candidate is just a puppry of the clerics who are nazi like tyrants who torture and kill all oponents of the regime.Only an internal rebellion by force and with the help of Iranians exiles and other countries can they get rid of and hang the ayatollahs.But time is running out as more likely they will be attacked by a multinational coalition Iran is outgunned.outnumbered and surrounded.If they try anything funny .like Hitler did,it might be bye bye Iran.At the least it will be the end of the regime.If the act Hitler like they might sacrifice hundred of thosands of their citizens liike Hitler did.Between the German subs in the Persian gulf as well as a huge NATO and U.S presence as well as of course Israel which has put up with the genocidal threats of the Iranians for decade.They of course should have first crack at Iran.Funny Iran doesn´t even care about the Palestinians.Hopefully armed groups of Iranians can put bullets through the heads of the ayatoolahs and the rev guards.But after decades of a police state like in nazi germany its´not so easy If they continue with their extreme enrichment thte the world will cheer.even Muslim and Arab countries.
Right on, Roy! I was afraid that no one would be able to spin this to make Obama look bad.
I know my house has doubled in price in just the last 20 years.
And let's see. I belive milk has doubled just since Reagan was elected.
And EVERYBODY knows about the price of oil. It would still be $35/barrel without the sanctions that we've imposed on Iran.
Yeah, man. We're really shooting ourselves in the foot aren't we?
If only we had elected McCain !!!
cut off .if they continue with their high enrichment programs and bomb making they will be forcefully attacked .Most of the world will cheer .even Muslin and Arab countries.Iran´s decades of holding the world hostage with terrorism ,threats and blackmail will soon be coming to an end unless they abandon their nuke bomb programn and open up their country completely like Libya did.Knowing the ayayatollahs that doesn´t seem likely.So again it will be bye bye ayatollahs and not a moment too soon!!
Republican in disguise,obviously. Sounds like a comment they make here-the ones who have luck all there life - through family/friends/connections - never lost a job, but if they did they got in the right place at the right time and had people help them start a new biz - these are usually WASPS. Beware their ilk, they will pounce on you without warning.
Bart - What are the high enrichment programs to which you are referring? I think your imagination is running away from you. All US intelligence agencies and some Israeli couterparts have agreed that Iran is not making a bomb.
These sanctions are brought on by Jews in our government, such as Brad sherman, Ros-Lehtinen and Steny Hoyer, who write these bills to sanction Iran. These people are working hard for Israel, when they should be concerned about the USA.
Iran has not violated one accord, yet our government arbitrarily punishes them because Israel is afraid they might get too powerful and find themselves unable to attack their neighbors without fear of retribution. Israel wants to remain the only bully on the block.
Iran has no aspirations over another nations land and water, as does Israel. They haven't started wars with other countries in well over 100 years. Quite a record.
Israel was complicit in 9/11 and attacked the USS Liberty, killing 34 and wounding 172. What a friend.
Here are a few links to learn how Israel commits its treachery:
http://www.rense.com/general29/perl.htm
http://www.thornwalker.com/ditch/snieg_conc1.htm
http://www.thornwalker.com/ditch/snieg_conc2.htm
boo freaking hoo! should have thought of this before they started building nuclear weapons.
What kind of comment is that, markl323? Like the ordinary citizens of Iran have any say at all about nuclear enrichment. They have no more control over that than we did when Bush invaded Iraq. The only people affected by the sanctions are ordinary poor and middle class people, just the same as here. We have no control, we suffer the consequences of what the rich and those in power do and it is the same in Iran. Do you think they care about what is happening to their poor?
I can't approve of any theocratic regime anywhere in the world, whether it be Iran, Saudi Arabia, or the one they're trying to set up in the United States, but the thing about Iran's nuclear weapons program: No one has ever really been able to prove that it exists.
Iran has oil, but to them, it sustains their economy better to sell more of it than to keep it. They have their energy needs, and so they want to use nuclear, for whatever reason. Iran is on a tectonic fault line, so building a nuclear power plant and relying on that could very likely be the stupidest thing they could do, but so would storing a nuclear weapon. Even if they were to get a nuke or 10, they wouldn't have enough to attack America, or even Israel for that matter, and not have a full blown retaliation that would completely wipe them off the map.
And even while the country is technically run by the Ayatollah, there are enough rich and affluent in the country that they can force his hand against war, and they'd really have to. Offensive actions from Iran against a western ally would be utterly moronic, and there's no one who doesn't know that. The idea that they're actually just trying to create an energy program that suits the country's energy needs makes far more sense than to have them build a weapon.
But let's say they DO build a weapon... Again, it's either truly intended for self-defense, or they plan on selling it. And who's going to buy it? Who can afford a nuke who needs one that would make it worth all of the trouble Iran's gone through already to get it? They'd have to charge a few billion at the very least. And they aren't going to sell to Al-Qaeda, Al-Qaeda and Iran are enemies.
So ultimately, Iran is either taking a ridiculous gamble to get a nuclear weapon to protect them from who, I don't know, or they're actually trying to create a nuclear energy program. The energy program makes a lot more sense. Their government seems like bad enough news, but the people there are the ones taking the hit. I think we have better angles to hit Iran on than their nuclear weapons program, which no one's ever really made a good case for other than, essentially, "Oh come on, you know they want nukes..."
Jonathan-1982062, your an idiot. You must also be @!$%#e, your bias is showing. I'm a Christian American and know full well your full of it. The Sadis have worked hard with the West to over produce more oil than they would prefer to to help keep oil prices down in the west. You give Islam a bad picture. Allah will get his revenge against liars like you.
Coolbreeze: You have a right to be in your own hell hole. Probably like many others in their religious hell holes, you don’t have much clues of what is going on in the world.
Substitutes for oil were tried right in early 1920s in Detroit. But oil companies and auto makers bankrupted them.
If humans can go to moon, then substitutes for oil long time back should have been possible. Any way they are going to be there sooner or later.
If the US, Israel, oil companies and Bushes, John McCains, Libbermann’s don’t intervene as in the case of Saddam, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan will not be in the map.
Slowly, the US and allies hands are being tied all over the world. Now McCains should plan how to fly out troops just like from Saigon Airport.
Count down for wiping out Saudi Arabia and Pakistan from the map has begun despite the US, British and their puppets help.
People like you can jump all around.
Daughter’s housing price has collapsed in California.
coolbreeze: Let me add a bit more.
Hope you understand that Iraqi wars have led to PIIGS and more on line in Europe and other places due to high Saudi oil price manipulations.
You (I am a conservative too. But I have an open mind and change with times) people blew up the opportunities in France, Germany, Greece and other places.
You just wait and watch for changes t a fast rate.
America has had sanctions on the Black community since Slavery; they work; but slowly; it may take another hundred years before America destroy Iran..... if America is around?
What a ridiculous post. One cannot look at every country in the world without realizing that in no other country on earth have Blacks done better than in America. Nowhere, not even Africa. The only thing dumber than this post is people posting about how gas and other commodoties have doubled in America, which is nothing more than a lie. Gas is pretty much the same now as it was before Katrina and is much cheaper now, adjusted for inflation than it was in the 70's.
JJ That's a blanket catch all statement, sanctions on Blacks since slavery?? come on that does not apply to a whole group and you know it. It will not take 100 years to break Irans back but the seeded hatred among the Iranian youth will continue the cycle as it has for 2000 years........
John Julius:
Like food stamps, welfare, gov't assisted housing, now interest home loans, home loans with no required down payment, free college tuition, etc., etc., etc., ....
Funny, everything has doubled in price here in the U.S. since the majority elected a coke head that bankrupted our country, twice.
I wonder if we are being "sanctioned" for being so stupid.
We need to introduce more abortion bills. That will solve the problem.
thanks for validating my number one rule of the internet. i.e. a poster willl ALWAYS post the exact oppposite of what his name implies. e.g. A peron who fancies himself THE RATIONAL ONE will post something like, "Obama is training an army of gay Muslim Nacaraguan SPider MOnkey to climb down your chimney on Christmas Eve to steal your guns." By the way - things haven't doubled but why let facts get in the way of your bs?
Nothing has doubled and I actually get my ammunition far cheaper with Obama in office despite NRA fear ads towards Obama. The panic produced a huge import resulting in surlpus and sales. Nice creative post RHR but I will shoot that monkey dead in the eye if he touches my guns.
I would question which President bankrupted the country, the one who spent billions on wars or the one who spent billions on welfare?? It all comes out of the same bucket I guess......
Nob:
You sir need to go take your meds and after that go crawl back uder your rock it is grown up time now.
Ronald Hussein Reagan??? Please do not stoop to the level of the ignorant Conservative right wing nut. You look just as stupid as they do when you imply that Reagan supports the Islamic extremist. Reagan might have been the Alzheimer's President but he was as American as....Barack Obomber.
Democrats and Republicans: two sides of the SAME coin.
I am almost always with the majority, but not now, quoting from "Something
That Will Surprise the World": 'That if the will of the majority cannot be trusted
where there are diversified and conflicting interests, it can be trusted nowhere.'
TESTIMONY OF HISTORY
That is what some persons believe. Since the human family is still here, they conclude that past civilizations must have worked out their major problems. But did they? The secretary of state for the United States, Henry Kissinger, a former Harvard University professor, noted:
"As a historian, you have to be conscious of the fact that every civilization that has ever existed has ultimately collapsed. History is a tale of efforts that failed, of aspirations that weren't realized, of wishes that were fulfilled and then turned out to be different from what one expected. So, as a historian, one has to live with a sense of the inevitability of tragedy."
Yes, based on experience of the past, statesmen will not be able to work out today's threatening problems. In fact, according to Kissinger, the evidence points to the inevitability of tragedy. Nevertheless, he added: "As a statesman, one has to act on the assumption that problems must be solved."
But, really, is that not only a wishful assumption? Is it reasonable to believe that today's statesmen will be able to solve world problems that are much more complex than those that past leaders were unable to solve? What does the average person now think about the prospects? Vision noted:
"The man-in-the-street now feels that the men in power are incapable of coming up with effective solutions to the problems that directly confront him: inflation, unemployment, energy shortages, violence, and so on."—January 1975, p. 21.
Is that how you feel about it too? Where will you put your trust?
In view of the evidence, do you not agree that the Bible provides good advice when it says: "Do not put your trust in nobles, nor in the son of earthling man"? (Ps. 146:3) Surely it should be clear that we need guidance superior to what humans of themselves are capable of giving
A RELIABLE SOURCE IN WHICH TO TRUST
Well, consider: Is it not reasonable to look to the Creator, the One who made humans and originally put them on the earth? Is He not the best equipped to work out world problems for our good? Trust in Him is not misplaced, even as the Bible says: "Happy is the one . . . whose hope is in Jehovah his God, the Maker of heaven and earth, of the sea, and of all that is in them, the One keeping trueness to time indefinite."—Ps. 146:5, 6.
Still you may wonder, if God is truly concerned about us, why has he not brought relief from human suffering? In his Word the Bible, God shows why.
When the first human pair rebelled against God, the Bible reveals, important issues were raised, including whether humans could, independently from God, govern their own affairs so as to bring themselves lasting benefits. God has permitted a full measure of time to settle this question—about 6,000 years. And has not the answer become clear? Is it not obvious now that humans are incapable of properly governing themselves independently of God?
Truly, humans need divine direction! And the Bible tells of the blessings that we can have by accepting God's direction. Right now we can enjoy the peace of mind that comes with understanding God's purposes, and soon we will actually experience the fulfillment of his Kingdom promises. Yes, under the rule of His kingdom, the Bible foretells, peace will replace rivalry and war; plenty will replace poverty and hunger; and security will replace crime and violence. The causes of sorrow, pain and death will be completely erased.—Ps. 37:10, 11; 72:7, 16; Rev. 21:1-5.
Really, there is no valid reason to disbelieve these promises of God, for we have concrete evidence of his reliability. Joshua, a member of the nation of Israel with whom God had been dealing, reminded the people: "You well know with all your hearts and with all your souls that not one word out of all the good words that Jehovah your God has spoken to you has failed. They have all come true for you."—Josh. 23:14.
Surely we have every reason to place our trust in such a reliable God. Do you?
PROOF OF YOUR TRUST
Merely saying that you trust in God is no proof that you really do. In the first century the Jews and their priests claimed to trust in God, but when they had opportunity to demonstrate their trust in his appointed King, Jesus Christ, the priests said: "We have no king but Caesar." (John 19:13-15) That choice proved disastrous, for, as a result, over a million of those people and their priests died in Jerusalem's destruction in 70 C.E. But Christians, who placed their trust in God and who had obeyed the divine warning to flee Jerusalem, survived.—Luke 21:20, 21.
What are you doing today to prove that you are putting your trust in God? Simply reading his Word the Bible—although this is a fine thing—does not prove that you do. For you no doubt read newspapers or other literature as well, yet this in itself does not prove that you trust what these say, does it? But when we apply in our lives what we read, then we show that we believe and trust in that source.
Do your actions prove that you trust in God? Do you conform your life to the counsel of his Word the Bible? If so, you will not be putting your trust in human leaders to solve world problems. Rather, you will place your trust in Jehovah God and his sure promises to wipe out this unrighteous system of things and to establish good conditions earth wide by means of his Kingdom government.
Jehovah's witnesses will be happy to help you to obtain the Bible information needed to develop a well-founded trust in God's promises. Contact them locally, or write the publishers of this magazine, and someone will be directed to visit you at no personal expense to you.
No, what we need to do is freeze immigration.
While their leaders sit in the lap of luxury.
Very standard actually. The wealthy of this country are all about austerity measures for the middle and lower classes because it wont hurt them and they can pay less in taxes (bush tax cuts).
I am hoping their camel dung country collapses under the economic sanctions and the people rise up against their leadership.
Yeah.. it worked real well against Castro. I don't think he lasted any longer than ......
Every govt stays in power by delivering goodies to their supporters. Iran is highly dependent on oil sales and they just lost their main customers while we have other sources of oil. They need us more than we need them. As soon as they can no longer deliver the goodies to their supporters, the supporters will be looking for a new sugardaddy govt. Aka, regime change.
@Fed Up-3261941
Why would the people rise up against their leadership over this? They aren't going to blame their leaders for sanctions imposed by the rest of the world. The Iranian people don't care much for their leaders generally speaking but I'm sure they also believe that they have every right to defend their country by any means including acquiring nuclear weapons. Nobody likes it when some other country comes along and tells them what they can and can't do. These sanctions will have little political effect on the common populace other than to inspire a whole new generation of jihadists.
In the last 2 years we have seen countries of the Islamic faith RISE up against despotism. You mean only "Some" of the Iranians are not going to blame their leaders for the sanctions that are imposed. There are quite a few Iranians who are already blaming their leaders and are 'afraid' to speak out about it in public.
Backcountry164
You got it in reverse. People already DID rise up against their leadership/dictatorship (and still do), and many not only asked for sanctions, but also many thought the sanctions were not severe enough, as they hoped it would weaken said dictatorship. They were telling President Obama "Either you are with us, or you are against us".
However it is possible that some of them may be getting discouraged as time passes, they may be wondering if the sanctions will indeed help overthrow the islamic government. It is not easy to overthrow a dictatorship, it requires sacrifices, and I salute all the courageous Iranians.
Yek seda faryad mizanim mikhaim azadi!
To the Green Movement: V!
@-Anna-
And what was President Obama's response when they were rising up? Nothing. So by your own logic the people have decided the President, and the US by default, is against them correct?
Please provide some sources for your claim that the Iranian people support the sanctions and want tougher ones because I can not find any. Support for their nuclear program has waned somewhat but the majority still support it and when it becomes an issue of nuclear weapons there are still more in favor than opposed. In addition more support cutting off ties with countries imposing sanctions than oppose such action.
So I'm not exacty sure what it is that I've got "in reverse", the polls I'm looking at are fairly recent.- http://www.gallup.com/poll/152633/iranians-split-nuclear-military-power.aspx
Backcountry164
Sanctions. And he spoke up against the Islamic regime. They didn't ask him for anything else.
I don't think so, because President Obama did speak up against the Iranian regime, and there is indeed sanctions (which is what many wanted at the time, as a means to weaken the islamic government, they never asked for military intervention).
Sorry but I'm not going to give you names, I can only tell you that about 2 years ago or so many protesters still hoped that sanctions would help them overthrow the iranian goverment. Note that Mousavi was against sanctions tho, but many didn't agree with him about this, and thought that he disagreed because he didn't want to overthrow the islamic regime. Mainly it always depends on who you are talking to, some wanted sanctions, and some didn't.
I can't give you names, but I can provide a link that might give you some insight http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2010/jun/11/iran-sanctions-may-spur-protest
However, as I mentioned, as time passes, and the government still being in place, some are now wondering if it will be as effective as they had hoped, and it seems the general opinion about sanctions is changing. Myself I have doubts about this (because I know how difficult it is for them) eventho I am told that indeed it weakened their government. They still hope to overthrow the islamic government, but it surely becomes difficult when you have to worry about feeding your family.
@-Anna-
The US did not impose sanctions against Iran in response to their crackdown on the post election protests. And President Obama's response to it at the time was weak. Just like his initial response to the protests in Egypt, Libya and now Syria. Only once the end result is near certain does he begin to take a hard stance and that never came close to happening in Iran.
Thank you for the link but I must point out that it is nearly 2 years old and while it does lend credence to the idea that the sanctions may cause more people to voice opposition to their government it does seem to indicate that there is any sort of support for the sanctions themselves. A quote from your article- "...it is clear that the protesters will not tolerate a dictatorial regime nor will they let foreigners control Iran's destiny."
Backcountry164
How so? What else did you want him to do?
Same question, what else did you want him to do?
Yet you tell me that you think President Obama didn't do enough ... Yes it is 2 years old, and I stand by my statement 100%. I assure you that many even criticized the U.S. at the time because they thought the sanctions were not harsh enough. Many at the time hoped that sanctions would weaken the Islamic Regime (what else did you think they were asking for?). They DID think that it would give them a chance to overthrow their government. And sanctions DO NOT mean to let foreigners control Iran's destiny, it DOES NOT mean we take control of Iran, it means "we do not trade with Iran". And I agree 100% with them not wanting foreigners to control Iran's destiny, it is their country. As I said it depends on who you talk to, some wanted more sanctions, and some didn't want sanctions, even within the Green Movement. Supporters of the Islamic Regime have always been against sanctions tho, they have nothing to gain from it either way.
Here are 3 more links, it may give you an idea of the debate that was going on at the time (2010, 2011, and 2012), and those are from iranians and iranian-americans.
http://www.iranian.com/main/2010/mar/how-smart-are-sanctions
http://www.iranian.com/main/blog/arash-irandoost/letter-president-obama-imposing-sanctions-against-islamic-republic-iran
http://www.iranian.com/main/2012/apr/time-not-irans-side-0
And for the last time I assure you that many iranians hoped the sanctions would bring the Islamic Regime down, and would give them a chance to overthrow the government. However its been a few years now, and people are tired and feeling the weight of the sanctions in their daily lives, and unfortunately it seems the regime will gets what it wants, at least for the time being.
The Green Movement is like a volcano, you never know when it will erupt again.
V!
oh boo-hoo......eat your nuclear material
WTF then? A loaf of bread HERE is over 2 bucks. Did God put sanctions on the US? LOL.
You are ALL degenerate lunatics ... FYI
I think you're lying.
I own this piece of land and I have all these great ideas of buildings to build on it, but unfortunately I don't have enough money to make it happen. I have the know how and time to build them, but I simply cannot afford it. Likewise, sooner or later, Iran is going to find out that as much as they would like to build a nuclear weapon, they simply cannot afford it. The sanctions are definitely helping in that regard.
Effort, You should take up the notion of poverty preventing nuclear development, including weapons, with North Korea. Just see how far that silly notion gets you.
And we all know who suffers the most from the sanctions , it the little man who if he complains is jailed or killed , the man in charge sit in a big house with a stockpile of food and wine and maybe loses a tenth of his money but is safe and sound .
O , I'm sorry ,I meant to say in Iran
I liken Iranians and their government's nuclear ambitions and stated goal of eradicating another country to German's turning their heads on Kristallnacht. If they want the pain to stop, stand up and tell your government to stop.
The blame should be pointed to their corrupt leader... they harbor terrorists and threaten other countries but need the world...
I am glad to here that Iran is feeling the sanctions, that is what is supposed to happen, guess it is working. Keep putting the screws to them.
These sanctions hurt the GOOD people in Iran more than the BAD people. The leaders of the regime still have plenty to eat while the rest the population starve. But maybe this a good thing. Maybe this will give them a little more incentive to establish farms, both animal and vegetable, to be able to feed themselves at the very least. Make the trade with them in the form of equipment to grow things. They need water?? Send them well drilling equipment, seeds, hoes and shovels. JMHO
Our foreign policy is a joke. These sanctions do nothing more than punish the decent people in Iran. The common people are not going to rise up against the Islamic regime and the government that doesn't care about them. It would have happened years ago. So in the time being, generations in Iran grow up learning to hate Americans thanks to our greed for dominate control, Iran WILL have a nuclear weapon no matter what the U.S. or Israel does, and gas prices will skyrocket.
Exactly!
Remove all the sanctions. Time for nice war. Our stock price is up already.
signed,
Halliburton of Arabia
I disagree with starting another optional war. However, I do agree that having any religion in government is a very bad thing.
Guess what? Generations in Iran have been hating the US for decades. So that's a moot point.
Not necessarily: revolutions come from the Middle, not the Rich (they're happy) and not the Poor (they don't have any resources/education).
If this squeeze finally puts Iran at the breaking point, it may well collapse the government. (Incidentally, that's why we don't even try to forment revolt in North Korea: they're so unfree and hungry it would never work.)
Iran is no more sure of getting a nuclear weapon than any other nation. Even if the efforts to stop them so far (embargos, Stuxnet, kidnapping key scientists, etc) retard their research, it's worth it. It may well buy the rebels the time they need to win. And there ARE rebels out there. They just need the motivation, the change of political climate (as happened to Khaddafi), and the means to win.
Thinking "it's inevitable" is what gives us POVs like Joe Biden's. Whom abandoned our allies in South Viet Nam. Who voted against SDI, which broke the back of the Soviet Union (and won the US the Cold War), and who wanted to break Iraq into 3 countries.
If the Iranians don't like it then they can throw out their crazy president. Too bad, so sad. And if they DO develop a nuclear program like the previous poster predicts, then we'll just take them out.
Lies of the GOP & Tea bagger, Citizens United and all the Alec corps ( WALMART ): that pay off the Politician. Its all about the Wealthy getting richer and the middle class getting poorer.....They don't want to help the poor, I do mean the poor not the lazy good for nothings...Who are the one's that leach off the taxpayer. The Wealthy: they get welfare both for themselves an for the Corps. ...But it seems that the Wealthy get away with it ..They steal billions and the few poor steals a few thousands. So what does the GOP want, is Screw the MIddle Class to get even with the few. As I say its the me me me and F everyone else.... The failures of the Republicans party trying to take away SS & Medicare & Health care for Woman so they can give their wealthy Blackmailers more money...To hell with the Poor and Needy. Let them freeze in the winter and stave the Old and Babies,let them die from bad water, do away with the EPA and thats what you'll have, just like all you Tea baggers want...You make me sick with your Me Me Me altitude. It just a matter of time before the masses raise up against you . Greedy and you all call yourself Christians, Christains. What a laugh: Wake up America!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!WAKE UP
ROFLMAO @ screw the middle class. So you are saying that all Republicans are in the 1%. Talk about ignorant rants.
Tea Party has the me me me attitude?......I thought that was the OWS....me want free education....me want free healthcare....me want free transportation...and on and on.
dude you're so far left you done lost your right foot and fell down and bumped your head, hard on that rock you need to crawl back under. go drink some more fox kool-aid
Just the smarter ones.
Correction, Hal-282etc, Just the greedy ones with no social conscience.
maze
You are right on! Notice all the denial. Not all Repubs just the elite.
Yes the rich evil doers want to suppress the poor and middle class. They want to take away all of their . . . wait a minute . . . what is it that they want to take away? The poor have nothing. The middle class - little more than the poor. Most of the wealthy create their own wealth and then grow it. So many on the so-called progressive side fail to understand basic economic principles. The economy is a living thing that is designed to grow. It's a not a finite pie that everyone is trying to divvy up. Why is this so difficult for so many to grasp? Steve Jobs creates Apple and brings products that billions want to buy. It was created from thin air and grew the economy and made many people millionaires. Ditto, Google, Microsoft and soon to be Facebook. This happens all the time. How did Steve Jobs steal from the poor and middle class? Not everyone can accomplish this level of success - in fact very few can. But for those who can, the sky is the limit. Seems fair to me. Let's leave them alone and get the hell out of their way.
@WakeUpAmerica-3716462
Sort of boggles the mind doesn't it? How can anyone be braindead enough to believe that corporations and the rich want to "destroy" the consumers that keep them in business?
Religion and poverty go quite well together. As the economy gets worse in Iran the mullahs will get stronger. Religion and war also go well together. Sex, drugs, and rock and roll are what they fear.
Same goes for the American Taliban: those Evangelical, right wing Fascists.
Isn't this what sanctions are supposed to accomplish? Why are the Iranians surprised or complaining about it? Unless the people of Iran fight against their leaders to change things, they will turn into North Korea. The people will starve and suffer while the leadership spends all their resources on weapons and showmanship.
steve
Good post! But you know it's starting to look the same way in the US.
"....another man looked on disapprovingly. He had a full dark black beard and was dressed in conservative black clothes.... He said that people like Ahmed were making excuses and were lazy."
LOL. It's the Iranian Tea Party.
wait...I forgot. The whole country is a tea party.
Face it. Middle Eastern nations such as Iran are political foes of the US. However, political and social elements aside, the West should be concerned about economic distress in that part of the world. It's too close to Greece and the other Falling States Of Europe, and the last thing the world needs is another section of the "circle of world economic malcontent", which stretches beyond political ideology making itself manifest in disorganized yet powerful movements such as Occupy.
It is hard to imagine "Occupy Teheran", but not impossible.
Too bad for Iran. That's what happens to you when you become a sponsor of terrorists, kidnapper of government personnel, infiltrators who seek to topple governments and lastly, procureres of nuclear armament technology. I hope you suffer more.
you mean like the US did to Iran in 1953?
Oh no. The sanctions are working? Does this mean we can't have another war? Darn it!
Signed,
Halliburton of Arabia (United Arab Emirates)