Renewing sanctions on Iran today, President Donald Trump sent a loud message to Ayatollah Ali Khemenei in Tehran that the Islamic Republic must stop its proxy war with Saudi Arabia. Trump withdrew May 8 the U.S. from former President Barack Obama’s July 15, 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action AKA the “Iranian Nuke Deal.” While Iran protested loudly to the P5+1, including the U.K., France, Russia, China and Germany, new economic sanctions go into effect today. Already lost over 50% of its Rial currency, Iran’s economy has been reeling under pressure from the U.S. “Today the entire world has declared they are not in line with U.S. policies against Iran,” said Iran’s 56-year-old U.S.-educated Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif. Zarif’s engaged in wishful thinking, knowing that U.S. sanctions could be applied for countries doing normal business with Iran.
Zarif wants to pretend that the Ayatollah isn’t in a proxy war with Saudi Arabia, supplying cash, arms and ballistic missiles to Houthi rebels in Yemen. Yemen’s Houthi rebels routinely fire ballistic missiles at Riyadh, getting close to hitting Saudi’s King Khalid International Airport. Iran was warned for months about supplying arms, cash and ballistic missiles to Houthi rebels in Yemen. When Trump cancelled the Iranian Nuke Deal it was because of Iran’s aggression in Yemen and Syria, backing Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. “Talk to anyone, anywhere in the world and they will tell you that [Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu, [U.S. President Donald] Trump and [Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed] bin Salman are isolated, not Iran,” said Zarif. Zarif knows that Iran’s Mullah government is a pariah state, unable to get along with businesses in the West.
Iran has done a good job of dividing the U.S. from the rest of the P5+1 countries, unwilling to take a stand against Iran’s proxy war with Saudi Arabia. When you consider Saudi Arabia’s seven-year-old proxy war in Syria, it lets you know the kind of destruction caused by these regional wars. When Russia entered the fight to defend Syrian President Bashar al-Assad Sept. 30, 2015, Syria’s civil war looked hopeless. Two years later, Russian President Vladimir Putin saved al-Assad, driving most of the Saudi-backed rebels out of Syria. Seven years of war killed over 400,000 Syrians, displacing 12 million more to neighboring countries and Europe. To avoid the same type of humanitarian crisis, Trump wants Iran to stop in proxy war in Yemen. Whether that happens or not, Iran faces severe economic challenges fighting anti-al-Assad rebels in Syria backing Houthi rebels in Yemen.
When Trump backed out of Obama’s Iranian Nuke Deal, he did so because Iran continues to arm Houthi rebels in Yemen against Saudi Arabia and encroach on Israel in Syria. Trump wanted more leverage after watching Iran disregard two key U.S. Mideast allies in Israel and Saudi Arabia. “Do you think this person [Trump] is a god and suitable person to negotiate with? Or is he just showing off?” asked Zarif. Zarif knows that Iran faces an economic calamity of historic proportion, causing rioting in the streets around the country. Rejecting renegotiating the Iranian Nuke Deal with the U.S., Iran painted itself into a corner, now scrambling to figure out how to get out its current mess. When the new sanctions bite, it’s going to further hammer the Iranian stock market and depress its currency. While rejecting Trump’s request for a summit last week, Iran’s looking more receptive to the idea.
Zarif questioned aloud whether or not Trump would be a responsible negotiating partner. Last week Ayatollah Khamenei and President Hassan Rouhani rejected the idea of renegotiating the Iranian Nuke Deal. Trump called the deal, negotiated over two years by Zarif and former Secretary of State John Kerry, the worst deal in U.S. history. Trump said the deal, which handed $1.6 billion in cash and $150 billion in sanctions relief to Iran, emboldened Iran to take aggressive action in Syria and Yemen. Trump wants Iran to dial back in support of Yemen’s Houthi rebels and stop encroaching on the Golan Heights in Syria. Since Trump backed out the Nuke Deal May 8, Iran showed no willingness to renegotiate the deal—until now. Zarif acknowledges that no matter how much he wants to ignore the new sanctions, they’re bound to have a crippling effect on the Islamic Republic.
Trump has offered Iran to talk “at any time,” leaving the door open to renegotiating the Iranian Nuke Deal or coming up with a new agreement. “Of course, American bullying and political pressures may cause some disruption, but the fact is in the current world, America is isolated,” said Zairf, knowing that the U.S. can still inflict damage on Iran’s economy. Zarif admitted that Iran faces difficult times ahead, as financial markets digest the effect of new sanctions. Iran’s initial response to Trump’s sanctions was to shut down the Strait of Hormuz, preventing shipping in the Persian Gulf. When Trump threatened to take forceful action, Iran was forced to back down. Blocking the Strait of Hormuz would be an act of war, met with a strong U.S. response. Despite all the threats, Iran isn’t likely to block the Strait of Hormuz and, in fact, looks headed back to the negotiating table.
