These days it is very difficult to understand the actual meanings of the statements issued by Washington regarding Daesh, Syrian regime or Iran.
A US official issues an exceptional statement that may be new in content but due to its ambiguity, it remains unreliable. A senior Treasury official told Chatham House in London that the United States considers Iran, even without nuclear capability, a threat to Europe and the world.
He explicitly said Tehran was still leading the world in funding terrorism. It is the main supporter of Lebanon’s Hezbollah movement and it is supplying weapons to rebels in Yemen. It backs Assad’s regime in the violence and destruction perpetrated in Syria. He said that Washington would lift sanctions on Iran following the nuclear deal with the West, but would maintain its boycott and prosecution of all those who cooperate with Tehran on the terrorist side.
In short, he believes there is no benefit in reforming Iran’s behavior. This is what we have been saying from the start. Since the Treasury is one of the most important ministries and executive institutions of the US government, we can consider the statement an important modification even if it does not represent a full retreat in US policy toward Iran.
It would be significant if Washington implemented controls on financial transfers and imposed new sanctions on international companies dealing with Iran on issues such as Syria and Yemen. The US could thus help change Iran’s behavior in the region and the world. American openness boosted the influence of hard-liners in the Iranian regime and weakened the moderates, including President Hassan Rouhani, the engineer of the nuclear deal on the Iranian side.
Washington’s economic weapon is very powerful and might have a bigger impact than military options. All of the above depend on the accuracy of what has been said, and whether Washington has finally discovered that Iran has not abandoned its policy of supporting terrorism, which is threatening the world.
The Americans thought lifting sanctions would help soften Iranian policies, but it is waging more wars in the region. Iran is now spending on arms deals with Russia, which has become directly involved in Syria.
