Escalating Pressure on Iran

Escalating Pressure on Iran

by Stephen Lendman

Secretary of State John Kerry's clear where he stands. He laid down markers. He demands Iran comply with Washington's demands. Left unsaid is what follows otherwise.

On February 26, nuclear talks will resume. P5+1 countries (Washington, Britain, Germany, China and Russia) will meet Iranian negotiators. They'll do so in Almaty, Kazakhstan.

Targeting Iran's peaceful nuclear program is red herring cover for regime change. Good faith negotiations aren't possible. Washington obstructs them. So does Israel behind the scenes.

Kerry disingenuously says:

"The international community is ready to respond if Iran comes prepared to talk real substance and to address the concerns, which could not be more clear, about their nuclear program."

"It's disturbing," he added. "And so my plea to the Iranians - or my statement - is a clear statement. We are prepared to let diplomacy be the victor in this confrontation over their nuclear program."

"The president has made it clear. He is prepared to talk about a peaceful nuclear program." 

"Iran has a choice. They have to prove to the world that it is peaceful and we are prepared to sit reasonably and negotiate how they can do that. Or they can chose to be more isolated." 

"The president has made it clear that his preference is to have a diplomatic solution. But if he cannot get there, he is prepared to do whatever is necessary to make certain that Iran does not have a nuclear weapon."

Kerry, Obama, other US officials, and Israeli ones want Iran to prove a negative. They demand unconditional surrender. Conflict resolution won't follow because both countries obstruct it. War preparations continue. 

Anything in 2013 is possible. Obama talks peace. At the same time, he plans war. That's how rogue leaders operate. Obama replicates the worst of them. He's a world class scoundrel.

Iran sought normalized relations for decades. Washington and Israel categorically spurn them. Iran can't have them without good faith partners. 

Washington and Israel oppose peace, justice, and equitable conflict resolution. Heavy-handed pressure bullies other countries to go along. At issue is unchallenged regional dominance. 

War is an option of choice. Harsh sanctions increase pressure. Imposing them violates international law. Washington and Israel spurn it with impunity.

They commit crimes of war, against humanity, and genocide. Rule of law principles don't matter. Nor do body counts and unspeakable human misery inflicted.

Ahead of late February talks, Washington imposed new sanctions. Doing so reveals its duplicitous agenda. America's all take and no give. Ultimatums substitute for good faith relations.

Iranian broadcasting and director were blacklisted. Its iFilm was removed from the Galaxy 19 satellite platform. So was Press TV. It provides 24-hour English language programming. 

Real news and information are featured. Washington wants them suppressed. It's not the first time Press TV was targeted. European satellite provider Eutelsat blocked it. 

So did Spanish satellite company Hispasat. They cited EU pressure for doing so. Washington's long arm applied pressure. So did Israel's.

New sanctions also target Iran's Communications Regulatory Authority and Electronic Industries. Foreign Ministry spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast said they're "designed to put pressure on the nation and to create a gap between the (Iranian) nation and government."

"In the remaining time (ahead of elections), they want to create tension, crisis, and instability in the country by imposing great pressure."

Internal opposition forces are supported. It's done ahead of June 2013 elections.

Washington did so in 2009. It tried manipulating green revolutionary fervor. Post-election, tensions and instability were stoked. Unrest was fomented. 

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon showed which side he backs. He falsely accused Iran of "arrests, threats and use of force." 

Media scoundrels claimed electoral fraud. Obama said the world was "appalled and outraged" by Iran's attempt to crush dissent. He claimed America didn't interfere in Iran's affairs. He lied. Expect more of the same this June.

Iran asserts its state sovereignty rights. It has every right to do so. It's not about to roll over for Washington, Israel, or its Lobby. It urges good faith negotiations. It won't engage any other way.

Iman Khamenei rejects direct US talks. Why bother without a good faith partner.

"I am not a diplomat," he said. "I am a revolutionary and speak frankly, honestly, and firmly. An offer of talks makes sense only when the side (making the offer) shows its goodwill."

"Negotiation is meaningful when the two sides talk with goodwill, under equal conditions and without seeking to deceive each other. Therefore, 'negotiation for the sake of negotiation', 'tactical negotiation' and negotiation offer in order to sell a superpower's gesture to the world is a deceptive move."

"You (the Americans) point the gun at Iran and say either negotiations or we pull the trigger! You should know that pressure and negotiations do not go together, and the (Iranian) nation will not be intimidated by such things."

"We, of course, understand their (the Americans') need for negotiations, because the Middle East policy of the Americans has failed, and in order to compensate for this failure, they need to play a trump card."

"Negotiation with the United States does not solve any problem because they have not fulfilled any of their promises in the past 60 years."

On February 8, Murdoch's Wall Street Journal responded. It headlined "The Ayatollah Always Says No."

"Joe Biden won't forget it the next time the US tries to reach out diplomatically to Iran."

It hasn't done so in good faith since 1979. Expect nothing different now.

The Journal claims otherwise. America offers good faith bilateral talks, it says. It never has and doesn't now. Khamenei knows Washington's velvet glove is cast iron inside. 

It's hardline and belligerent. It's all take and no give. Journal editors point fingers the wrong way. "The Ayatollah quashed" previous deals, they said. Past US efforts ended in failure.

"Why does the Ayatollah keep saying no?" Journal editors say "get ready for this shocker….Iran really wants a bomb." Saying so belies annual US intelligence assessments.

Journal editors leave inconvenient facts unmentioned. Vilifying propaganda substitutes for truth and full disclosure. Media scoundrels prioritize it.

They do so to misinform, manipulate public sentiment, and manufacture consent for war. They convince people to support what they should abhor. They persuade them to hate alleged enemies. Most often they should admire and respect them.

Propaganda glorifies war in the name of peace. Managed news misinformation repeats ad nauseam. Big lies repeated often enough get people to believe them.

Invasions and occupations are called liberating struggles. Plunder is called economic development. Exploitation and imperial control are called democracy.

Might justifies right. Nations are destroyed to free them. Code language conceals real motives. Policy involves ravaging the world one country at a time or in multiples. Nations are destroyed for their own good. Monied interests alone benefit.

Political speech masks policies. News is carefully filtered. Fiction substitutes for fact. Free and open societies aren't tolerated. 

Dissent is marginalized and suppressed. Imperial wars are called liberating ones. Human rights are violated for our own good. Patriotism means going along with what harms us. 

Terrorism is what they do, not us. Reasons why imperial wars are waged are suppressed. Wealth and power alone matter. Sacrificing human lives and freedoms are small prices to pay. Humanity is at risk but who cares. 

Media scoundrels aid and abet state crimes. Where it ends, who knows. Money power won't sustain a ravaged planet. Militarism and perpetual wars assure it. 

Peace is spurned to wage them. Big Lies conceal it. Sunshine is the best disinfectant. Suppressing it is policy. Rule of law principles are spurned. Unchallenged dominance alone matters.

Media scoundrels endorse imperial lawlessness. They lie. They're complicit in crimes of war, against humanity, and genocide. 

They manufacture threats. They stoke fear. They convince people that Washington's wars are justified because they say so.

Millions die to further America's imperium. Journal editors and other media scoundrels have blood on their hands.

Rogue states and media scoundrels never say they're sorry. America claims might justifies right.

Stephen Lendman lives in Chicago and can be reached at lendmanstephen@sbcglobal.net. 

His new book is titled "Banker Occupation: Waging Financial War on Humanity."

http://www.claritypress.com/LendmanII.html

Visit his blog site at sjlendman.blogspot.com and listen to cutting-edge discussions with distinguished guests on the Progressive Radio News Hour on the Progressive Radio Network Thursdays at 10AM US Central time and Saturdays and Sundays at noon. All programs are archived for easy listening.

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