Handing Iran at least $100 billion in sanctions relief Jan. 16, Iran met the U.N’s Vienna-based International Atomic Energy Agency’s [IAEA] requirements to comply with the July 24, 2015 P5+1 international nuke deal. Opposed by Israel and conservatives in the U.S. Congress, Obama touted the deal as “smart diplomacy,” opening the door for the release of four American hostages in exchange for seven Iranian detainees. Conservatives on Capitol Hill railed over the prisoner swap and the $1.7 billion transferred to Iran from a frozen 1981 trust that included $1.3 billion in compounded interest. White House officials insisted the “smart” diplomacy saved U.S. taxpayers billions and won the release of former hostages. “This is a good day,” said Obama. “When Americans are freed and returned to their families, that’s something we can all celebrate.”
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu complained, as he did to a joint session Congress March 3, 2015, that, despite 66-year-old IAEA Secretary-general Yukiya Amano certifying Iran’s compliance. “Even after signing the nuclear deal, Iran has not relinquished its ambition to obtain nuclear weapons, and continues to act to destabilized the Middle East and spread terror throughout the world while violating international commitments,” read a statement from Netanyahu’s office. Since former Iranian President Mahmoud Ahamadinejad threatened Oct. 30, 2005 to “wipe Israel off the map” and hosting a Holocaust denial conference Dec. 11, 2006 in Tehran, Netanyahu labeled Iran an “existential threat.” Apart from Ahmadinejad’s hot-air, Netanyahu has no proof that Iran’s nuke program, with or without developing nuclear weapons, would be used to destroy Israel.
Whatever the merits of the Nuke Deal, Netanyahu dredges up his laundry list against Iran, talking about how Iran “destabilized” the Middle East, something more properly belonging to Saudi Arabia. While it’s true that Iran supports Lebanon’s Hezbollah militia, it’s also true in recent years it’s been fighting Saudi’s proxy war against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. Only recently has the White House, after meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin Dec. 15, 2015, admitted that getting rid of al-Assad would probably not be a good thing. For nearly five years, President Barack Obama rubber-stamped Saudi’s proxy war against Syria, calling it a “civil war,” when in fact it’s a determined Sunni effort to destroy al-Assad’s Shiite regime. Netanyahu’s focus on Iran’s non-nuclear activities shows he’s more concerned about a regional chess match than Iran’s nukes.
Breaking off diplomatic ties with Iran Jan. 3, Saudi Arabia presents real problems for U.S. diplomacy, picking sides between Riyadh and Tehran. When 10 U.S. sailors were seized by Iran’s Revolutionary Guards Jan. 12 for drifting into Iran’s territorial waters, Secretary of State John Kerry called his new friend Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammed Javad Zarif. Zarif pulled some strings, getting the sailor released within 24-hours, something that bothered Netanyahu. Given the Saudi’s erratic behavior, breaking off diplomatic relations with Tehran after beheading popular Shiite cleric Nimr al-Nimr, Netanyahu doesn’t like the current U.S. rapprochement with Tehran. Announcing new sanctions today for testing a new long-range ballistic missile Oct. 11, Obama showed the U.S. commitment to adhering to the P5+1 nuke deal, preventing Iran from developing more missile systems.
Working with the P5+1, including the U.K, France, Russia, China and Germany, Obama praised recent diplomatic successes, especially the release of four Amrican-Iranian hostages. “America can do—and has done—big things when we work together,” said Barack, referring to the two-year-plus nuke deal that delayed Iran’s ambitions toward and A-bomb, it they have any. “We will continue to enforce these sanctions vigorously,” said Obama, insisting, that despite all the diplomacy, he intends to hold Tehran accountable for violating the P5+1 testing a long-range ballistic missile Oct. 11. Slapping Iran with more sanctions could sour the good will resulting from yesterday’s $100 billion payday. When you consider Saudi’s proxy war in Syria, you can’t blame Iran for developing more offensive weapons. Slapping Iran with more sanctions looks hypocritical with realities on the ground.
U.S. and its allies in the Mideast, like Israel, can’t have it both ways: Let the Saudis run wild in Syria and elsewhere and simultaneously tied Iran’s hand from development offensive and defensive weapons. Painting Iran as the Mideast’s biggest enemy, Netanyahu camouflages Israel’s strong economic ties to Saudi Arabia, just like the U.S. Whatever happened 37-years-ago in the Iranian Revolution, it’s time for the U.S. to admit past mistakes, especially the CIA-sponsored coup that toppled popular socialist leader Mohammed Mossadegh, all because he wanted to nationalize Iran’s oil industry. Apart from backing Hezbollah in Lebanon, Iran doesn’t have the same track record as Saudi Arabia sponsoring terrorism or proxy wars in Syria and elsewhere. No matter how much cash the Saudis throw at U.S. politicians, including presidential libraries, the White House should show more balance with Tehran.
