As Tehran’s lobbies hoped and bragged that the U.S. political developments would de-escalate tensions with Iran, the UN atomic watchdog agency revealed Iranian authorities have stockpiled low-enriched uranium far beyond the limits set in a 2015 nuclear deal, formally Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).
Earlier, on October 17, the Iranian coalition opposition National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI)–U.S. Representative Office shed light on the Iranian government’s secret nuclear facilities in suburb Tehran and Isfahan cities.
“Today, the United States is sanctioning members of an illicit Iranian procurement network. We remain firmly committed to countering any activity that threatens our national security. Our message is clear: If you do business with Iranian proliferators, you risk U.S. sanctions,” the U.S. Secretary of State Department Mike Pompeo tweeted on November 10.
According to its November 10 statement, the U.S. Treasury Department imposed new sanctions on several companies and individuals for circumventing sanctions. These entities have facilitated the procurement of sensitive goods, including U.S.-origin electronic components, for Iran Communication Industries, an Iranian military firm blacklisted by Washington and the European Union.
“The Iranian regime utilizes a global network of companies to advance its destabilizing military capabilities,” Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said in the statement.
All the while, the ayatollahs expected that U.S. political developments would lead to Washington ceasing its economic pressures and assisting them in resuming their malign behavior. However, the problem lies not in the U.S. political elite, but in the Iranian government, itself is the source of the county’s dilemmas.
“We have a maximum pressure sanctions program. This will continue in November and December because it’s unrelated to politics, it has nothing to do with the elections. It’s the foreign policy of the U.S., and it’s based on Iran’s conduct,” noted the U.S. special envoy for Iran and Venezuela Elliot Abrams on the same day.
In this respect, it seems that the U.S. officials do not intend to hang on to maximum pressures and plan to give concession to the ayatollahs. “Violations of the sanctions diminish their effectiveness and delay the day when Iran will cease its belligerent activity,” Assistant Attorney General for National Security John Demers said in the statement.
Still, Iranian authorities cannot be optimistic over foreign reliefs before they change their confrontational behaviors. In fact, neither Republicans nor Democrats would aid the foremost state-sponsor of terrorism in the world until it stops terrorism and warmongering across the globe.
“I have no illusions about the challenges the regime in Iran poses to America’s security interests, to our friends and partners, and its own people. But there is a smart way to be tough on Iran,” wrote the then-Democratic Presidential candidate Joe Biden, explaining his foreign policy towards the Iranian government on September 13.
Furthermore, the people of Iran play the most significant role in comparison to any external parameter. As the government tries to discourage society from any opposition and increase oppressive measures, the people continue the protests in different types. The fact that economic grievances and social objections are merely diverse kinds of political demands.
As Iranian authorities frequently expressed their surprise over the rapid return of social and economic grievances into anti-establishment protests. “Death to [the Supreme Leader Ali] Khamenei,” “Death to [President Hassan] Rouhani,” “Death to the Revolutionary Guards (IRGC),” and “Reformist, Principalist, the game is over,” is evident this reality.
In summary, as the ayatollahs have stared at foreign developments, they must be concerned about what is going on at home. And it should not be ignored that foreign politicians, particularly U.S. officials, follow Iran’s internal developments carefully. Recent sanctions against the government’s human rights violations and bipartisan support for Iranians’ desire for a democratic, secular, and non-nuclear government in Iran show this truth.
U.S. Congress Supports the Iranian People’s Right to Struggle for Freedom
