European Union [EU] signaled that it will not back any move by the U.S. for more sanctions against Iran, regardless of what it does with its nuclear program. EU’s 73-year-old chief diplomat Spanish politician Josep Borrell admonished the U.S. trying to get the U.N. Security Council to back new U.N. sanctions for Iran violating the terms of the July 15, 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action [JCPOA]. Negotiated over two years by 58-year-old former President Barack Obama through 76-year-old Secretary of State John Kerry and 60-year-old U.S.-educated Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarift, 73-year-old President Donald Trump withdrew from the agreement May 8, 2918. Trump withdrew because Iran refused stop its proxy war with Yemen Houthi rebels against U.S. ally Saudi Arabia. Trump saw no way to discourage Iran from its malign activities in the Mideast other than withdrawing from the agreement.
Borrell made clear that the U.S. no longer has standing when it comes to Iran through the JCPOA, serving notice that the Trump administration cannot expect more cooperation from the EU on dealing with Iran. U.N. Amb. Kelly Craw wants to extend a permanent U.N. ban on arms sales to Iran, a known supplier to arms to Hamas and Hezbollah terrorists in their effort to one day destroy Israel. “The United States has withdrawn from the JCPOA in order to deal with this issue from the JCPOA agreement. They withdraw. It’s clear. They withdraw,” Borrell said Borrell met with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, jointly saying the U.S. had no standing to use other signatories in the JCPOA to leverage their foreign policy. Unlike the EU, the U.S. buys no cheap oil from Iran, leaving the EU more vulnerable to Iran oil deals and Russian natural gas purchases.
Russia’s 70-year-old Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov blasted the U.S. for trying to undermine Iran’s foreign policy. If there’s any doubt about Russia’s foreign policy, it aligns anyway it can with U.S. enemies like Iran and North Korea. Lavrov, pulling no punches, called for “universal condemnation” of Trump’s punitive actions toward Iran, including the latest round of U.S. sanctions. Russia and China, both permanent members of the U.N. Security Council, have aligned against the U.S., opposing any attempt by Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to impose a permanent arms embargo. When it comes to Israel and Saudi Arabia, they understand Iran’s role in supplying arms-and-cash to Yemen’s Houthi rebels, Hamas and Hezbollah terrorists in Gaza and Lebanon. With the novel coronavirus AKA SARS CoV-2 or Covid-19 global pandemic ravaging over 200 countries, China has no love for the U.S.
European Union officials blame Trump for encouraging the Jan 31 Brexit, losing Great Britain from the European Union. Britain never really fit in to the EU when it signed the Maastricht Treaty Feb. 9, 1992, making it an official member the EU Nov. 1, 1993. U.K. avoided joining the Eurozone common currency, retaining the Bank of England’s pound sterling. Trump joined 56-year-ol British politician Nigel Farage backing the June 23, 2016 Brexit referendum to exit the EU. Almost four years later 56-year-old British Prime Minister Boris Johnson finally closed the deal. Borrell’s open hostility toward the U.S., cozying up the China and Russia, shows the bad blood toward the U.S. in the EU. Borrell happens, for whatever reason, to not hide his antipathy toward the U.S. When you consider everything the U.S. does for EU, it’s hard to imagine Borrell would join totalitarian states against the U.S.
U.S. foreign policy toward Iran is driven by Iran’s malign activities in the Mideast and North Africa, sponsoring revolution through proxy wars. EU officials aligned with former President Barack Obama to fund-and-arm Syrian rebels for nearly eight years to topple Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. After over eight years of war and 400,0000 deaths and 15 million Syrians driven into exile, flooding neighboring countries like Turkey and making their way to the EU, Borrell’s foreign policy drove the U.K. out of the EU. Watching Borrell and other EU officials join totalitarian states against the U.S. is cringe-worthy, considering the way 67-year-old Vladimir Putin has tortured EU countries for years, threatening to invade. When Putin invaded Crimea March 1, 2014, the EU cowered in fear, looking for NATO and the United States to do anything possible to stop Russian encroachment.
Getting energy needs from Iran, the EU finds itself with divided loyalty, claiming they back human rights above all else, while, at the same time, cozying up to totalitarian states like China, Russia and North Korea. Borrell’s openly hostile comments against the U.S. mirror deep resentment over Trump backing the U.K.’s Brexit, losing almost $3 trillion in the EU’s overall wealth. When it comes to Iran, the EU knows Iran is the Mideast’s biggest state sponsor of terrorism. Fighting proxy wars in Yemen, Israel and Saudi Arabia, Iran continues to upend democracies in the Mideast. Borrell backs Iran whose 81-year-old Supreme Leader Ali called for Israel’s destruction May 22, commemorating Al-Quds Day. Whatever Borrell’s personal views, backing totalitarian states is not in the EU’s best interests. They now what happens when they appease maniacal dictators.
