Hindsight will judge whether agreement in Vienna was historic or another example of Washington never missing an opportunity to miss an opportunity.
Time will tell. It’s too soon to know whether the deal will prove successful or unravel altogether. Troublesome land mines give pause for concern.
The power of Israel and its Lobby looms large. Blitzkrieg efforts are underway to undermine what was achieved – to kill the deal altogether, leave sanctions in place and keep Iran isolated.
Dark forces in America and Israel continue a steady drumbeat of anti-Iranian demonization based on Big Lies – for political reasons, no others.
Congress has final say up or down on accepting or rejecting terms agreed on. Most House and Senate members oppose it – whether enough for a two-thirds veto-proof margin won’t be known for sure until votes are cast. Unrelenting pressure will continue on both sides.
Washington got IAEA Director General Yukiya Amano appointed in 2009 replacing Mohamed ElBaradei – unjustly criticized for being too soft on Iran. He carefully avoided anti-Iranian rhetoric and baseless charges.
Amano changed things – releasing forged documents exposed as fabrications, wrongfully accusing Tehran of activities related to developing nuclear weapons.
Will Washington use him for or against Iran going forward? Will he conduct honest assessments of its nuclear activities? Will he confirm Iranian compliance with Vienna terms or claim otherwise – with or without independently verified evidence?
On Sunday, Obama sent the agreement to Congress. Netanyahu urged rejection. Passage will feed an “Iranian terror machine,” he blustered. His demagoguery wore thin long ago.
He’s a frequent US television guest. On CBS’ Face the Nation Sunday, he lied saying “(t)his regime has just received the dream deal. (It) paves Iran’s path to a nuclear arsenal.”
“It makes the problem of terrorism in the region and the world much worse by giving Iran billion of dollars for their war and terror machine. Not a good deal.”
“(I)t’s my obligation as the prime minister of Israel to speak out against something that endangers the survival of my country, the security of the region, the security of the world. It’s not only important to us, I think it’s important for the entire world.”
A positive sign was German Economy Minister Sigmar Gabriel heading a delegation arriving in Tehran for discussions. Other European nations are expected to follow – eager to do business with sanctions lifted.
Removing them won’t prevent possible snapback based on fabricated claims about Iran violating Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) provisions.
If one P5+1 country vetoes the other five on maintaining sanctions relief, reinstitution will follow, undermining years of hard work.
Guilt by accusation is enough. No evidence is needed – just the decision of one nation overriding the others, if 30 days of dispute resolution panel consideration fails to reach consensus.
A majority Security Council vote can order continued sanctions relief provided what’s proposed isn’t vetoed.
America’s odious history of breaching agreements by post facto repudiation or reinterpreting terms looms large as a possible deal breaker.
Given unrelenting US anti-Iranian hostility, chances for Vienna consummated terms holding at best are very tenuous. Things can unravel anytime for any reason, legitimate or otherwise.
A Final Comment
On July 20, the Security Council unanimously passed a resolution lifting Iranian sanctions it imposed – with snapback authority over the next decade to reinstitute them if Tehran breaches Vienna terms agreed on.
EU nations approved the nuclear deal the same day. Congress has 60 days to review it before acceptance or rejection. It’s far from a done deal. Enormous obstacles must be overcome for a considerable time to come.
Stephen Lendman lives in Chicago. He can be reached at [email protected].
His new book as editor and contributor is titled “Flashpoint in Ukraine: US Drive for Hegemony Risks WW III.”
http://www.claritypress.com/LendmanIII.html
Visit his blog site at sjlendman.blogspot.com.
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