Those who think that financial sanctions or an oil embargo can stop the desire of Muslims to acquire nuclear weapons are simply wrong, or perhaps blind and deaf.
Iran continues to enrich uranium, creating components for a nuclear bomb. It threatens to destroy entire countries, and at the same time wants to prove to the world community and the International Atomic Energy Agency experts that it is not constructing a nuclear bomb.
The fate of not only the Middle East region but the entire world depends on how we evaluate this problem.
Immediately the question arises: if Iran is not making a nuclear bomb, why impose financial sanctions?
If we believe that the Iranian nuclear program has a military character, financial sanctions and an oil embargo will not stop it. They are very easy to bypass.
Iran shares borders with several countries with which it has if not beautiful relationships, then at least normal ones.
Turkey openly opposed the oil embargo. Azerbaijan, although it understood the threat of Iranian domination, could not resist this. Central Asian countries and other countries in the Caspian Basin, “known for their democracy,” have well-established economic, financial, and military ties with Iran. These ties are not now being destroyed, as their destruction would not be in accord with how those countries understand their best interests.
President Barack Hussein Obama has been pretending that he is opposed to Iran’s nuclear program. If the current U.S. administration really wanted to isolate the Iranian financial system or to impose an embargo on oil from Iran, the first area where it would try to negotiate would be with Iran’s neighbors.
What kind of blockade may be involved, when no one knows whether imported Iranian crude oil is going to Russia, Azerbaijan and Georgia? Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan, and Kyrgyzstan, Iran’s neighbors on the Caspian basin, also have economic and political interests in the region. Iranian financial institutions have branches in all these countries. Iranian petrochemical dealers are among the top sellers who do business in these markets of petroleum stations.
For example, Iranian banker Saeid Balehtjoo has a senior Iranian bank in Azerbaijan, “Royal Bank.” He also has a seat on the stock exchange of Turkmenistan. See also here. This bank has close contacts with terrorist organizations and their money launderers. I met Saeid Balehtjoo in Baku. He actively supported the jihad in the North Caucasus.
I can cite only one example of how the Iranians can circumvent financial sanctions from the West, but I think this will be enough to understand that this is possible. How can they avoid sanctions? It is very easy…
For example, a few months ago, the Georgian media actively discussed a big deal. The Iranian Central Bank wanted to purchase one of the prosperous banks in Georgia. After the U.S. administration announced that it may establish sanctions against the Iranian Central Bank, Georgian businessmen still maintained close ties with Iran, and others from Azerbaijan also engaged in this business. Of course, this could not have been done without the knowledge of each country’s leadership. Many businessmen involved in the Caucasus deal with Iran but then conceal their activities. No action against on Iran’s neighbors and no sanctions can bring about the desired result.
Portal izrus.co.il recently reported: “The head of Israeli military intelligence (AMAN), Major-General Aviv Kohavi, said today that Iran has a quantity of enriched uranium enough to produce four nuclear bombs, as well as 200,000 ballistic missiles. The Iranian threat to Israel is more obvious than ever, Kohavi said.”
Will the sanctions stop the mullahs and Ahmadinejad? You be the judge…
A side note: On January 30, Georgia’s President Saakashvili met with President Obama. It is interesting that now in Georgia a very topical theme is the construction of the mosque of Sultan Aziz. Saakashvili is trying to imitate Obama. For several years there has been a dispute over whether to build the mosque or not, but it was during Saakashvili’s visit to America that the Georgian government declared that the mosque would be built. This is a Georgian version of the Ground Zero mega-mosque in the center of Batumi. Its construction shows the negative influence of Barack Hussein Obama on Georgian authorities.