Russia 'the Only Force Able to Help the Middle East'

© Flickr/ NinaraMiddle East13:27 24.09.2016(updated 13:33 24.09.2016) Get short URL360671In the follow up to Iranian President Rouhani's address at the UN General Assembly and his criticism of the US and the Arab countries, Iranian political analyst Hooshang Amirahmadi explained to Radio Sputnik why he thinks that Russia is the only country which could help the Middle East and how Moscow's policy in the region has changed."I believe that the only force that can help the region is Russia," Hooshang Amirahmadi, Professor at the US-based Rutgers University and President of American Iranian Council told Radio Sputnik. "This is honest. Thank God, Russia has fortunately taken a very constructive view on its role in the region, particularly in relation to Iran and the Arab world and in relation to Iran and the West," he added. "It is very unique and noble because Russia always in the past had wanted Iran to be in conflict with the West and the Arab world. Things have changed. And we should give the credit for it to President Putin," Amirahmadi noted. The Iranian expert's comments are a follow up to the address of Iranian President Hassan Rouhani at the US General Assembly on Thursday. In his speech the Iranian leader, among others, accused the US of not complying with the landmark nuclear agreement (the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, (JCPOA), commonly known as the Iran deal or Iran nuclear deal) which was reached in Vienna in July 2015 and took effect in January this year. President Rouhani criticized what he described as an American failure to adhere to obligations under the agreement, which relaxed many economic sanctions on Iran in exchange for pledging to only use nuclear power for peaceful means. The Iranian leader told reporters that despite the intense diplomacy in reaching the agreement between Iran and the world's powers including the US, there was "not a very stellar report card by the United States when it comes to fulfilling the agreement." Hooshang Amirahmadi however explained to Sputnik that there are loopholes within the JCPOA agreement which "allow the US to do what it is doing." "The American primary sanctions are an obstacle to the implementation of the secondary sanctions that have been lifted. The secondary sanctions are the subset and they are linked to the primary sanctions by millions of threads. Therefore due to the very fact that the primary sanctions remain, the secondary sanctions can only have a very limited positive impact for Iran when it comes to lifting them," he said. © REUTERS/ Lucas JacksonIranian President Hassan Rouhani speaks at a news conference near the United Nations General Assembly in the Manhattan borough of New York, U.S., September 22, 2016 The expert however noted that on its part, Iran is not being "very much straightforward and honest on this." "If the Americans are not really delivering on their commitments as per JCPOA, there is a committee that will hear Iran's complaints," he said. If this committee can't resolve the problem, Iran has the right to take the issue to the UN Security Council. "The question is: if they think that the US is not delivering on its commitments why not to take the US to the Security Council?" the expert wondered. Therefore, he explained, the problem is not that the US is not openly delivering on its commitment but that JCPOA has lots of loopholes. "The Iranian negotiators were not aware of what they were signing," Amirahmadi noted, adding that he had repeatedly warned that "the Americans are playing a very complicated game with Iran." At some point, the expert warned, the Iranians will pay for the game the US is playing with them. "One of those games was exactly this: the JCPOA was written in a way that it created lots of loopholes and it is not really a solid document," he stated. In his speech President Rouhani also accused Saudi Arabia of hateful ideology across the region. © Flickr/ NinaraTehran, Iran The Iranian leader was addressing the UN the day after Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Nayef suggested Iran should be a better neighbor in the region and not interfere in the affairs of other countries. The Iranian President called on Saudi Arabia to "cease and desist" from "divisive policies" if it was serious about regional peace and security. "If the Saudi government is serious about its vision for development and regional security, it must cease and desist from divisive policies, the spread of hate ideology and trampling upon the rights of neighbors," Rouhani said. Hooshang Amirahmadi said that while there is no question about the Saudis being guilty of propagating this radical ideology for some time, the two countries have to be honest and balanced in their understanding of history. "The creation of Daesh, this radical Islam and these movements is the result of many forces, including the American policy, the Israeli policy and the European policy in the region, which was the policy of humiliation of the Arab world and Muslims," the expert told Sputnik. "The Saudis also propagated radical Islam to counter the Iranian Islamic Revolution of 1979. It is a very complex process," he added. "With regards to Iran-Saudi relations, both sides are at fault: none of the two is really taking a reasonable approach, they are not talking reasonably to each other," he said. While the two states "do propagation at the UN," back home the situation is completely different, he said. "Back home they call each other the worst, the most violent names. Then at the UN they start to moderate that tune," he noted. This approach is not working, the expert said. "I think they have to make a decision whether they really want to work with each other or not. And if they do, they have to respect each other's views, religion, ideas, territorial integrity as opposed to intervening in each other's affairs and then come to the UN and make nicer statements," he finally stated.

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What if Global Powers Impose Sanctions on Washington One Day

Politics 21:19 09.06.2016(updated 21:34 09.06.2016) Get short URL 9843230 The US has long used economic sanctions as a weapon against those states that refuse to bow before Washington. But maybe one day, the American leadership might get a taste of their own medicine, Martin Berger writes. In its bid for global dominance Washington is developing military capabilities and gaining trade and economic advantages, journalist and geopolitical analyst Martin Berger writes in his article for New Eastern Outlook. It is no secret, however, that on this path the US has repeatedly violated the norms of international law. And we are being forced into believing that US jurisdiction is somehow above it, the journalist notes. "But there's yet another weapon of choice Washington has been using all too often — sanctions it's imposing on those states who refuse to yield once they contest American coercion," Berger stresses. A US fighter, who is fighting alongside with Syria Democratic Forces (SDF), carries his national flag as he stands with SDF fighters in northern province of Raqqa, Syria May 27, 2016 © REUTERS/ Rodi Said 'High Price' Help? Why the US Won't Cooperate With Russia in Syria The journalist points out that the US goes even so far as to pressure its allies and partners into supporting such actions even if it results in damage to their own economic interests. "The latest example of such unilateral action has been the ruling of the US Supreme Court to pay compensations to the families of those Americans killed in the terrorist attacks in 1983 and 1996 in Beirut and Riyadh, using the money from 'frozen' Iranian assets. This decision has provoked massive public outrage in Iran," the journalist recalls. It seems the lesson has been learnt by Tehran, and in one of his recent statements, Iranian President Rouhani made it clear that Iran will not give Washington its money so easily. Moreover, the Iranian parliament "approved the general outlines of a bill that would obligate the government to claim compensation from the United States for its hostile moves against Iran over the past 63 years," the Iran Project reported on April 17, 2016. The media outlet specified that the cases particularly include the US involvement in the 1953 coup, the role Washington played in an 8-year Iraqi war on Iran in the 1980s, the damage the White House inflicted on Tehran "by dipping into Iran's assets frozen in the US banks," and the US support for Tel-Aviv's anti-Iran measures. "Earlier, in a speech in the southeastern city of Kerman, President Rouhani pledged that Iran would 'take this case to the Hague in the near future and will not spare any effort towards the restoration of the nation's rights through legal, political and banking channels'," the media outlet emphasized, adding that the move came "in response to the US Supreme Court's decision in April to seize about $2 billion in frozen assets of Iran." What does the move mean? Spring in Moscow © Sputnik/ Vladimir Astapkovich Kremlin Welcomes French Senate's Resolution on Easing Anti-Russia Sanctions According to Berger, Iran has signaled to the international community that Washington is by no means "above the law." It is not the "global hegemon," who rules the world but a long number of countries that should co-exist in accordance with the norms of international law. It cannot be excluded that one day the US leadership will get the taste of its own medicine, he notes. "And there could be many such states, not only the nations of Asia (in particular Japan regarding Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Korea, Vietnam and many other others), but also nations including the former Yugoslavia, Iraq, Libya, Syria, which may even create a 'unified alliance of victims of Washington's policies,' to make a united appeal for compensation," Berger stresses. And in the event of the compensation not paid, the international community could choose to impose political and economic sanctions upon Washington. Today is seems rather incredible, but should the pillars of the US dominance crumble some countries may jump at the opportunity to adopt Read more: http://sputniknews.com/politics/20160609/1041090405/washington-sanctions-world.html#ixzz4B77gmBUr