President Obama recently signed a tough Iranian sanctions bill into law. The sanctions will mostly target Iran’s energy sector. Even though Iran is an oil producing country it obtains a good portions of its energy needs from abroad, including companies from the EU and the U.S. The new sanctions bill targets gasoline exports to Iran as well as companies that do business with Iran’s revolutionary guard. The sanctions bill was also able to effectively close loopholes in the UN resolution that allowed some U.S. companies to nevertheless supply Iran’s energy needs.
China has been concerned with the U.S. sanctions in line with its call for talks with Iran rather than other action. China is afraid that the new U.S. sanctions will stop Chinese companies from doing business in the U.S. as they have significant dealings with Iran.
The E.U. has also enacted more stringent sanctions than have been called for in the U.N. resolution. A number of European companies have already cancelled contracts and deliveries as a result.
In addition, Ahmadinejad, the Iranian president has been recently qouted as saying that Iran can be energy independent as soon as “next week”, most analysts say that energy independence for Iran is at least two years away. The new developments on this front beg the question of whether these sanctions come too late or whether they can still deal the significant blow that policy makers hope will stop Iran from going nuclear.
A few months ago, I wrote about the early stages of the conflict in Ukraine through the lens of Sun Tzu’s The Art of War. While it appears likely that the war will carry on into the foreseeable future, enough time has passed for us to make an honest assessment of each side’s relative […]
The Ukrainian Army has made dramatic strides in the last few weeks. Ukraine’s tactical commanders have outfoxed their Russian counterparts, and by issuing a feint towards the south the UA has been able to earn substantial gains in the north of their country. The impact of these efforts have been compounded by the steady stream […]
In mid-May the Irish political party, Sinn Féin, won the plurality of seats in the Northern Ireland Assembly. Many American readers might not fully understand the significance of Sinn Féin’s political victory- but rest assured that subjects of the United Kingdom and a wide range of political movements the world over have heard the message […]
The first wave of the Russian offensive in Ukraine has fallen short of Russian autocrat Vladmir Putin’s ambitions. Most analysts deduced that Putin had hoped to achieve a decapitation strike of the Ukrainian government- taking Kiev and replacing Ukrainian President Vladimir Zolinski with a pro-Kremlin voice. Kiev has been threatened repeatedly through the course of […]
On the weekend of March 26th, the notorious MS-13 gang went on a massive killing spree in El Salvador which left more than 70 people dead by Sunday. Even for a country where powerful gangs hold massive sway, this recent tragedy stands out considering that it was the bloodiest day on record since the civil […]
