Already dealing with failing economy, Iran’s problems got worse today with 73-year-old President Donald Trump signing an executive order targeting more Iranian assets, including those controlled by Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. Since downing a U.S. Global Hawk surveillance drone June 20 with a surface-to-air missile, Iran celebrated its latest victory over what they call the Great Satan. Iran’s boasting they stopped a U.S. cyber attack over the weekend on their navy, though it’s impossible to verify what, if anything, the cyber attack did. Hitting Iran with more sanctions ups-the- ante on Iran’s 59-year-old U.S.-educated Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif who said Iran considers itself at war with the U.S. Zarif refers to the U.S. “economic war,” targeting Iranian assets, but, more importantly, trying to stop Iran from selling oil into world markets.
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani threatened to restart Iran’s uranium enrichment program July 7, unless the European Union guarantees oil sales over Trump’s threats to sanction any country doing business with Iran. If Iran violates the July 15, 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action [JCPOA] AKA the “Iranian Nuke Deal,” the EU said there will be no more concessions, including ways to buy Iranian oil. Trump has asked Khamenei to come back to the bargaining table, which he’s refused to do. Now Khamenei faces more economic misery, including direct targeting of his many disguised companies connected with his own wealth. Since the 1979 Islamic Revolution, Khamenei’s Mullah ruling class has pillaged-and-plundered Iran’s vast wealth, essentially transferring Iran’s wealth from the Shah Reza Mohammad Pahlavi to himself. Trump and his Treasury Secretary Stephen Mnuchin have figured it out.
If Zarif thought the U.S. was at “economic war” with Iran before today’s new round of sanctions, it’s only going amplify Iran’s problems. Targeting Khamenei and Iran’s top military commanders, Mnuchin has figured out how to squeeze Iran where it hurts. Mnuchin said Zarif, another part of Iran’s wealth machine, will be targeted later this week Trump decided, against civilian and military advice, to hold off on military retaliation for Iran downing the unmanned spy plane. Trump’s decision to hold off earned him both praise and disdain from his critics. Yet if you look at who’s got the last laugh, Iran’s reeling even more the latest economic sanctions. Mnuchin targeted, in the latest sanctions, Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps [IRGC] naval commander Ali Reza Tangsiri who threatened in February shut down the narrow Strait of Hormuz through which 20% of the world’s oil flows.
When signing the new executive order today, Trump said Iran must never get a nuclear weapon. Canceling U.S. involvement in the Iranian Nuke Deal May 8, 2018, re-imposing U.S. sanctions, Trump sent a loud message to Tehran that they must stop their malign activities, including giving guided missiles and predator drones to Yemen’s Houthi rebels to fight a proxy war with Saudi Arabia. While backers of the Iranian Nuke Deal thought it was only about restricting Iran’s uranium enrichment program, Trump saw it differently. He needed leverage to pressure Iran to cease-and-desist its proxy war against Saudi Arabia. Not only has Iran stepped up tanker attacks in the Persian gulf, they’ve escalated missile attacks on the Kingdom, recently hitting Saudi oil pumping stations. Branding the IRGC April 8 a terror group, Trump put Iran on notice that it must stop destabilizing the Mideast.
Targeting Iran’s Aerospace Commander Amirali Hajizadeh whom the U.S. sees a responsible for downing the Global Hawk drone, freezes Iranian officials out of the global banking system. Iran’s IRGC chief Hossein Salami said he could have shot down a P-8 manned surveillance plane with 38 U.S. personnel onboard. Salami warned the U.S. that if Trump persists with more sanctions, the IRGC could target the U.S.S. Aircraft carrier Abraham Lincoln strategic battle group now in the Persian Gulf. Salami knows any attempt to target U.S. assets would be met with more than economic sanctions. Playing cat-and-mouse with Iran, Trump’s in no rush to escalate the crisis until Iran lashes out again at U.S. assets. So far, Khamenei has refused to talk with the U.S., something Trump’s been asking for, knowing that the Supreme Leader has refused to talk with the U.S. or its allies.
New sanctions on Iran ratchet up the tensions as Iran considers its next move in the Mideast. With Iran showing now signs of giving up its proxy war against the Kingdom, Trump isn’t inclined to lighten up the sanctions. Targeting Iran’s Mullah leadership, including Khamenei, Trump means business when it comes to crippling Iran’s already beleaguered economy. New sanctions aim to prevent Iran from using the international banking system to hide its assets, especially those pirated away by the Mullah ruling class. Iran knows one more aggressive action against any U.S. asset will trigger a powerful U.S. military response. National Security Adviser John Bolton said today in Israel that Iran should not mistake U.S. prudence from weakness, warning Iran that they’re on thin ice. Confronting the U.S., Khamenei keeps the public in the dark about how the Mullah ruling class steals Iran’s wealth.
