President Donald Trump makes it very clear that he does not adhere to the policy of his predecessor for Iran or many other issues.
On February 2, 2017 Michael Flynn, former National Security Advisor, put Iran “on notice” over missile tests. The next day Trump tweeted, “Iran is playing with fire — they don’t appreciate how ‘kind’ President Obama was to them. Not me!”
During his campaign, Trump described the Nuclear Deal with Iran by saying, “It’s one of the worst deals ever made.”
US Treasury Department announced on Thursday that an Iranian prison company and its former leader are being sanctioned for orchestrating beatings of more than 30 political prisoners in 2014.
Sohrab Soleimani and Tehran Prisons Organization were added to the list of officials and organizations involved with human rights abuses in Iran. They have been blocked from the U.S. financial system, and U.S. citizens and businesses are barred from conducting financial transactions with them, according to an article in The Hill. Any assets Soleimani may have in the U.S. are frozen by this action.
Iran, one of Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad’s key backers, has been hit with extensions on existing sanctions, by The European Council, in response to serious human rights violations.
On the same day that EU member states helped block a fast US/UK drive for new sanctions on the Assad regime and Russia, these sanctions that hit exports and target key leaders were signed off on, as well.
In a surprise move on Wednesday, Iran’s former President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad filed to run in the country’s presidential election in May. He filed, despite a recommendation from the Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei to stay out of the race.
Although many believed the election would be won by moderate President Hassan Rouhani, Ahmadinejad’s decision may upend it. Rouhani has not yet formally registered, but following Khamenei’s recommendation for Ahmadinejad to stand down in September, many viewed Rouhani as a shoe-in.
Relations between the United States and the Islamic Republic of Iran have been tense since President Donald Trump took office at the beginning of the year. The Iranian regime had become somewhat accustomed to President Obama’s rapprochement and appeasement policies. It spent years carrying out numerous terrorist and nuclear activities, not to mention the ongoing human right abuses, confident in the knowledge that the Obama administration would do nothing for fear of rocking the boat.
However unstable the relations between the two countries have been, it seems like the situation has become even more rocky following the missiles launched by the United States following the Syria chemical attacks that left dozens of civilians dead.
The international community was informed last week about the increasingly large and powerful commercial empire that is being controlled by Iran’s Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC). At a press conference, the main opposition to the Iranian regime, the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI), also pointed out that the IRGC’s wealth is making a huge contribution to the ongoing terrorist activities by various groups throughout the Middle East.
Thanks to information obtained by the network of the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) network, (which has contacts in the country and even in the Iranian regime and the IRGC itself) we now know that there are around at least 90 docks around the coast of Iran that are controlled solely by the IRGC.
Many in Washington believe that it is time to push back against the threat of Iran and its many proxy militias. What could be more appropriate than the United States going after Iran for its violations of human rights? The land of the free targeting the Islamic Republic for the lack of freedom it gives to its own people…
It is also a sensitive subject for the Iranian regime because the 2009 uprising that came about after a controversial presidential election caused havoc in the country. It may have been long forgotten about outside the borders of Iran, but inside it is something that still troubles the Iranian regime to this day.
The National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) recently held a press conference to highlight the ways in which Iran’s Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) is gaining wealth which is in turn being used to fund the spread of terrorism throughout the Middle East and to support terrorist groups abroad.
The opposition gave details about nearly 100 docks in Iran that are controlled solely by the IRGC. They highlighted that Ali Khamenei, the Supreme Leader of Iran, ordered for there to be no controls or checks on the docks that the IRGC is in control of. This way, goods can be smuggled in and out of the country.
In 2015, Harry J. Kazianis, the Director of Defense Studies at The Center for the National Interest wrote about how the United States military could strike Iran. This was originally written at a time when the nuclear deal was being prepared and many had voiced opposition to it – calling for it to be abandoned.
Kazianis pointed out at the time that even if a solid nuclear deal is agreed, there are still many topics regarding the Middle East where the United States and Iran disagree. He emphasised that the US needs to be ready to confront Iran should the case arise.
Iranian state media has reported that President Hassan Rouhani contacted Syrian President Bashar al Assad via telephone to reiterate his support for the Assad regime. He said that the chemical attack recently carried out in Syria was orchestrated by the opposition.
He reportedly said: “The use of chemical weapons (…) was aimed to divert the general public’s attention from the truth. We must not permit terrorists use such weaponry, then accuse others and provide pretexts for measures in violation of international regulations.”
