DISCLOSURE: Sourced from Russian government funded media
by Vladimir Platov, with New Eastern Outlook, Moscow, and the Institute of Oriental Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences, a research institution for the study of the countries and cultures of Asia and North Africa.
[ Editor’s Note: The title does not reveal anything new, as the US sanctions on Iran are not going away any time soon. But the Ukraine war has backfired on the Western war grifters, as their plan of quickly destroying the Russia economy backfired on them, indicating a huge joint failure by NATO, EU and US strategists who will now do their best to lie their way out of it.
The ruble rebounded quickly from its initial drop when the Western economic attack began, and then climbed to heights that forced Moscow to intervene to keep inflation down, which is no worse than in many other places.
The inflation is enriching the pockets of the war grifters’ business buddies, all thick as thieves when they see such an opportunity.
The wheat prices have increased for Iranians, with the government having adjusted its past subsidies that have long been used to keep prices lower. So Iran is stressed like the rest of the world is.
The US has a lot of inroads with young Iranians that are not happy living under a religious autocracy, but they live in an area where that is commonplace, and the US is not undermining, like the Saudis, Qataris and Dubai. Cultures do not quickly change to facilitate externally motivated political movements.
That said, the Ukraine war and its economic tidal wave has the Iran nuclear deal at a standstill. The latest news on negotiations is from the Washington Post, May, 25th:
Saying he was “not particularly optimistic, to put it mildly,” of success in the year-long negotiations over reviving the nuclear deal with Iran, the Biden administration’s envoy to the talks insisted Wednesday that ongoing diplomacy remains the best option for U.S. national security.
“The military option cannot resolve this issue” and prevent Iran from developing a nuclear weapon, Robert Malley told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. “There is no military response … we’ve heard this repeatedly,” including from Israel, he said. “The only option here is the diplomatic one.”
What that is saying is the Biden regime cannot agree to renew some version of the old deal, given all it has on its plate now. It cannot do anything with Iran, as the Republicans would surely savage Biden on it during the midterm elections.
Hence forget about anything being done this year. If the Repubs take back Congress in the fall, you can forget about anything being done at all… Jim W. Dean ]
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First published May 27, 2022
Iran has been living under US and EU sanctions for over four decades now. Over time, foreign food left the country, with the Danish and Dutch milk, English teas and cereals, coffee, and Swiss chocolate familiar to Iranians in the past having disappeared from store shelves. But there was no famine, as Iranian farmers did their best, baked bread, and bought rice from China.
During this period, three generations of Iranians have learned to live in isolation from the progressive world. Nevertheless, the restrictions imposed on the country at the initiative of the United States introduced a number of destabilizing aspects into everyday life, which are periodically used by Iran’s opponents to intensify protests in the country and undermine the internal socio-political situation.
According to regional media reports, since the beginning of May there has been a wave of protests in Iran, largely due to a decision by the country’s authorities to cancel subsidies for imported wheat. This led to a 300% increase in the cost of flour-based foodstuffs.
The government has also increased the prices of some basic commodities such as vegetable oil and dairy products. The situation was aggravated by a spike in demand: after the authorities announced price adjustment measures, the population, fearing an even greater rise in prices, rushed to buy food for future use.
On May 15, at a meeting with officials in charge of the country’s economy, Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi promised that general food subsidies would be replaced by money for those Iranians who meet certain requirements.
Vice President Mohammad Mokhber said prices for vegetable oil, chicken, and eggs “will be settled in the coming days.”
On the cost of bread, Mokhber said “violations are unacceptable under any circumstances” and the presidential administration has not made any decisions regarding prices, subsidies, and sales. According to the vice president, the cost of bread should not have changed, and since this occurred, it was a violation of the law.
Yet, the assurances about lowering the prices by the president’s administration did not calm citizens, and were used by opponents of the current regime, constantly fueled from abroad.
A network of “foreign spies” operating in the country, dozens of whom have been arrested in recent years, has been repeatedly reported on by Iran’s security forces. The arrest of dozens of such persons working in state bodies was announced last August by Iran’s intelligence minister.
As for the latest protests, one popular [social media] account published photos from demonstrations in Tehran with the faces of the protesters blurred to protect them from persecution. Similar incidences have already flared up in Iran in recent years: in 2017, 2019, and 2021.
Under the influence of “external coordinators,” socio-economic slogans quickly turned into calls for the dismantling of the current political system. The current manifestation is no exception.
Videos that appeared on social networks show that demonstrators in some regions of the country began to oppose the supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and the concept of Wilayat al-faqih, which implies the extension of his powers to all public and social areas: government, judiciary, collection of state taxes, and international politics.
Yet, given the closed nature of Iranian society from active influence from outside, most of the protests do not appear to show any leader prepared by “external curators.” They mostly involve dissatisfied young people exposed to external influences demanding “an end to the current political system,” although they have no vision of what form the replacing administration should take.
Under these conditions the situation makes the continuation of the negotiations to restore the “nuclear deal” in Vienna all the more relevant for the country’s leadership because the success of the latter could lead to international sanctions being rescinded and a partial revival of the economy.
With regard to the nuclear negotiations, however, major changes in the short term should not be expected. President Raisi is unlikely to abandon the basic requirements for them, taking into account his conservative leanings and the ideas of his political camp about what the final of the diplomatic marathon should look like.
Against the backdrop of a clear crisis in Washington’s relations with Tehran and the remaining problems in the settlement of the Iranian nuclear program due to the US, the latest protests in Iran have attracted increased attention from the Biden administration. State Department spokesman Ned Price expressed his support and encouragement for the participants of the demonstrations.
“The brave Iranian protesters are standing up for their rights,” the diplomat said, adding, “The Iranian people have the right to hold their government accountable. We support their right to peaceful assembly and freedom of expression online and offline without fear of violence or retaliation.”
Along with the desire to use the internal destabilization of the situation in Iran, the United States attempted to promote its “Plan B,” involving the oil factor.
According to the Iranian publication Hamshahri, Washington seeks to stimulate Tehran “to solve social problems and replenish the nation’s budget by increasing oil supplies to the world market so that it enters into competition with Russian oil.”
Moreover, Western media outlets even started disseminating information around “Plan B,” and about supposedly already started bargaining between Iran and the United States. There was information that Tehran apparently has begun to actively load oil into tankers in anticipation of a nuclear deal.
Some experts in the West began to spread information that diplomats in Vienna “are about to complete work on a deal to limit Iran’s nuclear program in exchange for easing sanctions.” And because, according to analysts, Tehran will need several months to increase production volumes in oil fields, it is allegedly already increasing the loading of its tanker fleet in order to increase its oil exports almost immediately after sanctions are eased.
The American publication Politico even expressed an opinion about the possibility of concluding a deal between the United States and Iran without the participation of Russia and outside the format of the Vienna talks.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken said that Washington is trying to restore relations with oil-producing countries that can replace supplies of Russian heavy oil needed by the Americans. Iran is named among the “replacement sources.”
Ultimately, the adviser to the Iranian delegation in Vienna, Mohammad Marandi, was forced to issue a special statement, according to which Iran “in principle cannot be a competitor to Russia in the oil and gas market.”
Tehran thus confirmed that it does not intend to act according to the American scenario against Russia, although it is ready to accept any proposal, especially from allied states.
Vladimir Platov, expert on the Middle East, exclusively for the online magazine “New Eastern Outlook”.
Jim W. Dean is VT Editor Emeritus. He was an active editor on VT from 2010-2022. He was involved in operations, development, and writing, plus an active schedule of TV and radio interviews. He now writes and posts periodically for VT.
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It seems the U.S. policy has shifted from hearts and minds to Smash & Grab. Is the U.S. economic system getting so far in debt that it seeks “dragons to slew with gold to grab, now oil? Who promulgates this.clepto diplomacy warfare policy…??? Theft always leads to trouble of one sort or another. Has America become so weak that these thefts are sold as an example of American power, if not prestige? Or is it soley to fortify the sagging dollar? Maybe it’s just bullying for bully”s satisfaction!!!!
Don’t forget what the US and the Bloody Brits done to IRAN, in 1953, after the FIRST Democratic LEADER was Elected in that country??
“The Israel Lobby and US Foreign Policy.” Like the late Congressman from Ohio, James TRAFICANT said;’ “America is the WHORE of Zionist Israel’! For telling the TRUTH, Mr. Traficant was ELIMINATED!
And when I say VT is the same as the rest of the medias, some folks become upset.
“A wave of protest”, “the “absolute power of the leader”, “a closed society”, “a 300% increase in the prices”, “many young people are not supporting the government”, and more and more, I just like to know if these are not “propaganda” what they really are?
CNN doesn’t write an article that is 100% lying about Iran, they mix the reality and their own fabricated lies, which means “propaganda”, thanks to God I’m from the young generation and live here, and see with my two eyes that these claims are not true, if the leader had the power that you depict, Khatami and Rouhani would never become president, the damn JCPOA and FATF would have never been signed, and the f-king Israel would never dare to assassinate our generals,,,,,,,,,,,,,
America is an enemy, and there’s no expectation from it, but what is really wrong with Russia that propagates against Iran as if Iran is its sworn enemy? and as usual, Iran is honest to a fault with everyone, even America!
The article says “As for the latest protests, one popular [social media] account published photos from demonstrations in Tehran with the faces of the protesters blurred to protect them from persecution”, isn’t the source of this lie ” Saudi International”?????? The channel that even its own journalists know that they are talking trash!
This is your news? This is your source?!
you can purchase Danish and Dutch milk, English teas and cereals, coffee, and Swiss chocolate?? you can’t ?? so, CNN is not 100% lying… just perhaps 75% 🙂
Irani, as we say in Farsi don’t dirty your blood, throw your hat up the air that even this with all its flaws exists.
I’m still waiting to read a full article here on how Haj Ghassem saved Syria. But I’m not holding my breath.
Let me give you a sense of reality here with some examples: this writer Vladimir Platov copies and pastes yes out of Saudi International. If we really wanted to help him understand what’s really in Iran he should be invited to Ramsar for instance and given a nice bottle of domestic vodka pure grains sitting on a beach watching the crowd see for himself.
But that wouldn’t be possible and the Russian ambassador to Iran wasn’t wrong to say that prohibition of alcohol and hijab is a problem. Omid Dana did a brilliant clip on this and showed how much Iran’s tourism is losing to all the surrounding countries just because of this. The dimension that Dana didn’t touch however is how much this thing would help outside press come close to understand the politics of the republic.
For god sake Khayam couldn’t pen anything without a full glass in his hand !
Propaganda is the dissemination of information—facts, arguments, rumours, “half-truths”, or lies—to influence public opinion.
NewtRallyt, I can’t stop “dirtying my blood” (😂😂😂😂), I have read RT for more than 2 years, and I have seen that it propagates against Iran as bad as CNN, and what boils my blood is that Iran is really honest with everyone!!!!
Just a few times ago the TV was showing an American Hollywood movie (which was really evil, and designed to undermine any faith in God), from the first episode to the last episode of season 3, the movie repeatedly talked about a Russian mob which was running NYC, and finally that Russian mob murders the protagonist in the movie, but this was the American version, what was translated in the TV (Iran’s TV I mean) was slightly different, if you watched it, would never hear any name from a Russian mob, but that was translated to just “mob”!!! Only cause Russia is an ally, and Iran didn’t want to show the American propaganda against its ally, (out of an absurd honesty!) but what Russia does? Only propagates and published Hollywood-style lies and fabricated stories against Iran, and that’s not just RT, other Russian media are like this.
Anyway, I doubt If Khayam and Hafez and others would have written those poems when they were drunk, they were “mast” but not by wine or alcohol, I doubt if any meaningful word comes out of the mouth of a drunk person, however, I have never been drunk so I don’t know the feeling, but really, I never get why people drink alcohol, that’s just for escaping from this damn world, but is just a temporary treatment not permanent, I doubt if a bitter urinate-like (no offense to anyone) beverage would be any delicious or enjoyable to drink!
But If someone wants to drink wine or alcoholic beverage, they can buy it in Iran, just don’t ask how, but of course, one has to avoid drinking in public,,,,,,,,,,,,,, either way, I’m happy that when I go to a shop or a gym, I should not be worried that a drunk teenage might opens fire and kills people only just because he thinks killing people is as easy as what he has seen in video games.
Omid Dana is recently saying good things, I don’t know that’s a new show or what?! (Cynical I know) but about some issues, he’s really a fool.
When you watch a western TV channel, you never see a man that appears on the TV while dressing half-naked, but the woman “have to” wear so cause if they don’t, they can’t be on the show anymore, I believe that this is the violation of women’s rights and actually humans rights, why should they be chosen only because of their beauty but not ideology, personality or specialty?
You can see that the US has been always using a method in dehumanizing its prisoners and that’s “forced nudity”, this is a real humiliation, hijab is nothing especial if is implemented to a moderate extent (Of course that f-king Taliban is the US creature and they’re just f-king cavemen and have nothing to do with Islam), anyway, I’m seeing that in Iran this is moderate, and that much nudity that the western women have is really humiliating, and degrading to themselves, of course, you understand it better than me.
In today’s Iran, the hijab has become like this: women wear like a human being, not as a tool for others, there’s no reason they wear half-naked clothe only cause their a$$hole buss wants to enjoy their body rather than their work, and I’m really happy that our country is not making money out of p0rn and sex industry like a b!tch, Even the American society has had some ethical boundaries in the past before it degenerates like now.
I don’t think the reason for the poor tourism industry in Iran is either Hejab or alcohol, the real reason is that the people of the world are brainwashed and lied to about Iran, and another reason is that Iran itself is not paying attention to this as much as it has to.
There’s a really awful impression of Iran thanks to America and the Zionists, I have a Nigerian friend, and she said that in Nigeria people hate Iran cause Iran is America’s enemy (their savior, even though the US steals their gold), just think about that, lol, even Africa hates Iran ://// Thanks for the time you took.
Does an absence of alcohol and dancing women hurt tourism ? Dude, when people go traveling, they like to drink and dance. We are fun loving Simians, and even monkeys wait for the fruit to ferment, before letting the whole gang have a wild party.
Before the religious insanity most of the world went topless. There is not a decent restaurant on this planet that does not have drinks. Coming out of the US military, I was offered 100 grand per year (tax free) to work in KSA, as a fuel specialist (gasman for planes). I turned it down without a second thought when they told me no wine or beer, or women. Have a Pina Colada.
“What’s your next move ?” The typical path is that the War Lord team will escalate bit by bit trying to spur their opposition to keep retaliating, which by the way countries have a right to do. And if that does not tip the scales toward another shooting war, there’s alway the big terror attack, including another mini nuke one were more countries could do that if they wanted. Or the bio-weapon one could be rolled out, or as some would say, rolled out again. Did you notice how conveniently the Monkey Pox entered stage left, like it was on cue? Nigerians are traveling overseas all the time, the perfect place to spread something from, like in a week it would be all over the place. The Jim Dean suggestion to have independent monitoring teams (if such a thing exist) at all of these Bio lab sites seems not to have caught on. Imagine that! And I wasn’t charging anything for the advice.
What’s your next move ?? Well, after the piracy act ordered by Biden to greeks probably next it could be he may order to US Navy ships switch the stars and bars flag to Jolly Roger flag when they see Iranian ship… 🙂
I think the editors at VT have consistently stated that they do not know everything and that input from comments are as much a source of good information as any. Sometimes, the articles are just teasers to get reactions, opinions AND alternative/additional information. I get some of the most thoughtful ideas here from the comments as much as the contributors. That’s why it’s called a forum. Although I have been called a moron, I have not been banned here. That’s more than fair.
“Iran is named among the “replacement sources.” Lol.
Blinken should look for his own replacement if he wants to get any concessions out of Iran instead of ordering the theft of 115,000 tons of Iranian oil out of a Greek port. Once a Israeli thief always an Israeli thief even in Washington even when employed by a democrat.
I have news for you Likud: iran just took two not just one but two (2) Greek oil tankers for the one you stole.
What’s your next move ?
Someone once said, “You just can’t make this shit up.” 🙂
Zionists media are doing a complete information blackout to cove up news about several fires broke up “mysteriously”on Qalansawe industrial area…. maybe is an Iran retribution for the murder of Sayad Khodayee ???
You’re right Jim but you know what kind of shit Washington makes up all day and the “US Justice Dept” goes along with the crap ?
Here it is: The reason why IRGC is finally kept on the terrorist list and the Iran deal is dead is because Washington’s Likudniks like Joe Lieberman running UANI and their pundits Claire Jungman et al financed by Miriam Adelson et al, would like to legalize the theft of Iranian oil by making up that that such seizures are legal when linked to a US sanctioned Iranian terrorist group, giving them jurisdiction to act in international waters.
They just say 17 more ships are within the realm of our power, lol.
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