Still angry over 72-year-old President Donald Trump withdrawing May 8 from former President Barack Obama’s 2015 Iranian Nuke Deal, 69-year-old Iranian President Hassan Rouhani threatened to block the Strain of Hormuz should the U.S. prevent Iran from selling oil into world markets. Iran spent the last two months securing commitments from Europe to continue buying Iranian oil, despite U.S. promises to sanction any country doing business with Iran.. Speaking today at the Reagan Library in Simi Valley, Calif., 54-year-old Secretary of State Mike Pompeo compared the Iranian Mullah government to “the Mafia,” saying it wasn’t responsive the Iranian people. Pompeo talks about Iran exporting revolution to foreign countries like Syria and Yemen, where Iran fights a proxy war with Saudi Arabia. Arming Yemen’s Houthi rebels, Iran started a proxy war with Saudi Arabia.March 22, 2015.
Pompeo received standing ovations at the Reagan Library talking about Iran’s mischief in Syria and Yemen. “America should know that peace with Iran is the mother of all peace, and war with Ira is the mother of all wars,” said Rouhani, threatening the U.S. with devastating war should the U.S. impose a blockade on Iranian oil. So far, the European Union hasn’t blinked, promising to continue doing business with the Islamic Republic despite U.S. sanctions. Pompeo laid it on thick with Iran because of its ongoing proxy war with Saudi Arabia. Pompeo wants Iran to stop supplying arms-and-cash to Houth rebels in Yemen and to end giving aid-and-comfort to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. “You are not in a position to incite the Iranian nation against Iran’s security and interests,” said Rouhani, warning the U.S. that meddling with Iran’s economy would have disastrous consequences.
When Trump cancelled the Iranian Nuke Deal, it was precisely to re-impose sanctions on Iran, especially interfering with it petroleum sales. Trump wants Iran to stop funding the proxy war against Saudi Arabia in Yemen. He also wants Iran to stop encroaching on Israel’s security, allowing its Revolutionary Guards and Hezbollah militants to impinge on Israel. When Trump met with 65-year-old Russian President Vladimr Putin July 16, he sought Russia’s help in containing Iran. Whether or not there’s anything Putin can do is anyone’s guess. But with all the alleged secrecy at the summit, White House officials had no problem disclosing how Trump worked on Putin to contain Iran in Syria. Rouhani’s recent threats to close the Strait-of-Hormuz in the Persian Gulf would be an act of war against the U.S. and its allies. Rouhani knows the consequences of such actions.
Iran’s 54-year-old Foreign Minister Mohammed Javad Zarif, who negotiated the 2015 Iranian Nuke Deal with former Secretary of State John Kerry, refused to re-negotiate the agreement. Iran, on principle, won’t re-negotiate the Iranian Nuke Deal, forcing Trump to back out of the agreement to guarantee “the security of the strait of Hormuz,” Rouhan told diplomats in Tehran. “Do not play with lion’s tail, you will regret it forever,” warning the U.S. to not implement any new sanctions restricting Iranian oil sales and distribution. Since Trump pulled out of Nuke Deal May 8, Iran several Western companies and Banks have stopped doing business in Iran, plummeting the Iranian currency. “Whenever Europe has sought an agreement with us, the White House has sown fears they could be targeted by a reapplication of U.S. sanctions,” said Rouhani, warning the U.S. about the “mother of all wars.”
Trump isn’t intimidated by Rouhani’s threats, knowing that close U.S. allies Israel and Saudi Arabia are prepared to stop Iranian encroachment. Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei continues to warn Trump about messing with the Iranian economy. Trump wants Iran to cease-and-desist supplying arms-and-cash to Yemen’s Houthi rebels. As long as the Houthis continue to fire medium-range ballistic missiles at Riyadh, the White House will continue imposing sanctions. “America should know that peace with Iran is the mother of all peace,” said Rouhani. Likewise, war would be the mother of all wars,” sounding a positive note. Rouhani would be well advised to take Trump up on the offer to re-negotiate the Iranian Nuke Deal Trump believes former Secretary of State John Kerry was badly out negotiated by Zarif in the summer of 2015, netting Iran $1.6 billion in cash and $150 billion in sanctions relief.
Iran’s oil exports are expected to drop by two-thirds by year’s end with renewed U.S. sanctions. How Iran responds to the new sanctions is anyone’s guess. Khamenei has threatened to start ramping up uranium enrichment activities. If that happens, Western nations can only conclude that Iran has its eyes set on a nuclear bomb. “The Strait of Hormuz region must either be safe for all or be insecure for everyone,” said General Kloumars Heydan, quoted in Tasnim news agency. “The enemy’s behavior is unpredictable,” Tasim quoted Gen. Mohammed Baqeri, Iran’s army chief-of-staff. There’s little Iran can do to the U.S. short of war. Blocking the Strait-of-Hormuz would be an act of war, prompting a forceful U.S. response, plunging the Iranian economy into more of an abyss. There’s little Iran can do to stop more U.S. sanctions, other than get back to the bargaining table.
