President Obama may find it difficult to hold his coalition of less than thrilled convinced or even willing nations "united" to cripple Iran with economic sanctions. When many are faced with the real possibility of having sanctions imposed on themselves if they don't cooperate fully, hopefully the US and Israelis are mindful of how they're actions being perceived.
We were wondering if nations with domestic concerns are feeling pressured, threatened or intimidated into compliance with the crippling sanctions? Are some just doing and saying whatever need be done or said publicly to support US demands while cutting deals on the side to reduce the negative impact on domestic and global commerce.
Oil Minister S. Jaipal Reddy, Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee and Foreign Secretary Ranjan Mathai maintain India will continue to purchase Iranian oil to meet its growing energy needs. The Indian government points to an excellent record of enforcing United Nations sanctions on Iran, however they have objected to unilateral U.S. sanctions. “We abide scrupulously by UN authorized sanctions,” Indian Foreign Ministry spokesman Syed Akbaruddin said in a telephone interview.
While restrictions imposed by individual countries “have an impact on commercial interactions, from a legal perspective there is nothing that binds us to follow them.” As smaller nations cave to US/Israeli pressures, India as well as China seem to be charting their own course of action, despite threats of retaliation for not toeing the line.
According to Bloomberg News, Mark Dubowitz, the executive director of the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies in Washington and an adviser to the administration on sanctions, says India shouldn’t assume it will avoid sanctions unless its refiners demonstrably reduce imports over the next three months. There’s no reason “why India should be given a free pass as the EU, Japan and others significantly reduce the scale and scope of their Iranian trade,” he said in an interview. “No country should be confident that it will not be the target of U.S. sanctions.”
Its tough language like this that has emerging nations quietly reassessing their strategies, international relationships and partners, without the West being a centerpiece of their futures. With Tuesday's announcement of the Obama administration exempting 10 European Union countries and Japan from U.S. economic sanctions because they have found a way to comply, it still gives one reason to speculate if its really back-alley wrangling over necessary loopholes that played a significant role in the exemptions.
US/Israeli efforts to strong arm the international community into crippling Iran may work on some but others are focusing on their own nation's needs, security and the global economy as top priorities.
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