This can be seen in the vastly different views on Iran presented by Donald Trump and Iranian president Hassan Rouhani at the UN podium. Trump was critical of the Iranian Regime, its nuclear deal, and the havoc it has subsequently wreaked on the world.
Rouhani, rather predictably, tried to refute these points and argued that eventually the US would return to the nuclear deal and withdraw sanctions, even though it seems like that ship has more than sailed. He used it as an excuse to portray himself as a moderate, but the UN should make no mistake; he’s not.
Under his watch, the Iranian Regime has helped dictator retain power in Syria, toppled a government in Yemen, sparked sectarian violence in Iraq, funded terrorism around the world, and abused the Iranian people. There is no moderation there.
Still, the US is trying to resolve the unfinished business from the nuclear deal, which is the Iranian Regime’s destabilising behaviour in the Middle East – something that Europe has tried to ignore even as Iran-backed terrorists have attacked and killed innocent people in their continent.
Now, US sanctions are having such a dramatic effect that the Regime’s hold on power is under threat, which is why the mullahs are desperate for help from Europe, Russia, and China; desperate enough perhaps to use a barter system to keep their oil on the market.
Luckily, this bizarre plan, condemned by US Secretary of Secretary Mike Pompeo, would still leave traders vulnerable to US sanctions and so doesn’t appear to be a viable option.
National Security Adviser John Bolton said, “We do not intend to allow our sanctions to be evaded by Europe or anybody else.”
The Iran Lobby, most notably the National Iranian American Council, tried to portray this as an act of aggression or war by the US, but this shows just how well US sanctions are working on the Regime.
Trump again offered to meet with Rouhani at a meeting of the UN Security Council in order to discuss a new nuclear deal, but Rouhani denied that any offer was extended and the Iran lobby ignored the president’s remarks.
Laura Carnahan wrote: “The reality is that the mullahs are increasingly growing desperate and running out of options, time and cash and caving into US demands to change how they behave might be the only way out.”
