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Hillary Supports Illegal Sanctions on Iran

Written by Subject: Iran

Hillary Supports Illegal Sanctions on Iran

by Stephen Lendman

In January, Security Council sanctions on Iran were lifted. America still maintains some of its illegally imposed ones, despite promises of relief following implementation of last year's Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) nuclear deal - once again showing its word isn't its bond.

Bipartisan US policymakers can't be trusted, saying one thing, doing another. Hillary is militantly anti-Russia, anti-China, anti-Iran, anti-peace.

According to her spokesman Jesse Lehrich, she "supports a clean reauthorization of the Iran Sanctions Act," imposed solely for political reasons, along with numerous other US hostile actions, punishing the Islamic Republic unfairly and illegally since 1979.

Initially it was by seizing $12 billion in Iranian government bank deposits, gold and various properties in November that year.

A full trade embargo followed, largely maintained despite last year's JCPOA implementation, normalization with Tehran denied because of heavy bipartisan congressional and Israeli pressure against it.

In 2006, the Iran and Libya Sanctions Act was renamed the Iran Sanctions Act (ISA). Authorized through end of 2016, it prohibits US and foreign oil development investments. 

Violators face stiff penalties. They include denial of Export-Import Bank of the United States help, rejection of export licenses, and a ban on all or some violating company imports.

Hillary wants US/Iranian relations based on a "distrust and verify" policy, continuing to punish the country for maintaining its sovereign independence and being Israel's main regional rival.

She wants ISA renewed for another decade, effectively in perpetuity as long as Iran remains free from US dominance - with congressional authorization for new sanctions any time at Washington's discretion.

Billions of dollars of Iranian assets remain frozen. European banks face heavy pressure not to resume normalized business relations with Tehran.

According to Iranian deputy oil minister for trade and international relations, Amir Hossein Zamaninia, European banks are reluctant to run afoul of US policies - complicated by  deliberate lack of clarity on American-imposed rules for doing business with Tehran.

Sanctions relief isn't coming as expected, Washington obstructing normalized relations. Decades of punishing Iran continues, things likely worsening if Hillary succeeds Obama.

War is the greatest risk with her in power, escalated against Syria, Iran next if Assad falls, Russia and China to follow. Possible nuclear armageddon awaits if she's commander-in-chief of America's military.

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

His new book as editor and contributor is titled "Flashpoint in Ukraine: How the US Drive for Hegemony Risks WW III."

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

Visit his blog site at sjlendman.blogspot.com. 

Listen to cutting-edge discussions with distinguished guests on the Progressive Radio News Hour on the Progressive Radio Network.


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