Group items tagged

From this article, I learned that the U.S. push for U.N. sanctions on Iran is entirely unsupported by other members of the U.N. security council, as many members believe that the U.S. has no legal standing to push for sanctions. Reimposing U.N. sanctions on Iran was part of the "snapback provision" of the Iran nuclear deal, but Trump withdrew from the deal 2 years ago. It is because of this withdrawal that the other members believe the U.S. no longer has the legal right to enforce the provision and impose U.N. sanctions.

The U.S.' push for sanctions is interesting because sanctions could be possible if the U.S. had not pulled out of the of the 2015 Iran Nuclear agreement. However, now that President Trump wants to impose sanctions he can not because of his administration past actions. The U.S. said they are fine standing alone of this issue, but this process could have been easier, and they could have possible have built a coalition around the sanctions.

The European Union has toughened sanctions against Iran over its disputed nuclear program, banning trade in industries like finance, metals and natural gas, and making other business transactions far more cumbersome, expressing "serious and deepening concerns over Iran's nuclear program." Iran is now suffering acute inflammation, further lowering is credit and ability to sell oil.

It is interesting to consider the dangers that sanctions on states like Iran pose to the international system. Generally, we have been approaching Iran as an "immature" state that does not have the right to have a nuclear program. This sort of attitude alienates Iran and produces resentment against the Western world.

Iran is suffering inflammation??? Or inflation??? :^)

sorry im late to this but the economic sanctions on my country have finally been lifted!

Doesn't Venezuela already have tons of oil?

Article detailing the European Unions planned sanctions on Iran, if Iran does not back down from nuclear development. The sanctions to be imposed by the EU show a policy change from past sanctions which targeted specific people and companies.

Turkish foreign minister Davutoglu announces that Turkey will stop sending weapons to Syria. Businessmen who support Assad's regime will have their assets frozen in Turkey. Turkey is hoping that these sanctions will persuade Assad to stop the violent crackdowns

The Washington Office on Latin America (WOLA), Oxfam, the Center for Democracy in the Americas (CDA), and Cuban Americans for Engagement (CAFE) for a panel discussion about the impact of U.S. sanctions on Cuban women and vulnerable populations in the context of a global pandemic

the EU proposed new sanctions on Russia in response to so-called "referendums" in four Ukrainian regions. more import bans on russian products. Expected to deprive Moscow of an additional $6.7 billion.

This article talks about how the European Union disapproves of Iran's nuclear probram. The European Union banned trade in many basic industries such as natural gas so to cause greater difficulties for iran. Iran has also experienced a tough economic climate amidst a world suffering from a great economic depression. For example, Iran has had extreme inflation that has been extremely damaging towards its economy and its power in the world.

Very cool!

The rising tension between the U.S. and Iran, including threats of Nuclear weapons with "uranium enrichment far beyond levels ever reached in the country," makes me seriously question Trumps decisions to withdraw America from the nuclear deal and continue to test Iran's patience.

I wonder if in some way Iran progressing their nuclear technology is a good thing, as it requires the rest of the world to come up with a solution to the sanctions put on Iran and increases the stakes for Trump, who may realize that the sanctions are just causing more issues and could result in Iran creating nuclear weapons.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un called for a major political which he is expected to address his increasingly tense relations with Washington and Seoul over the expansion of his nuclear and missile programs. North Korea has ramped up missile testing to a record pace this year, exploiting a divide in the United Nations Security Council by Russia's war on Ukraine. But Kim has also been struggling to improve a dysfunctional and heavily sanctioned economy made worse by pandemic border closures in recent years, an issue he may also address during the meeting at the years end.

"improve a dysfunctional and heavily sanctioned economy. . . "? we know so little about what goes on inside North Korea, but it seems pretty functionally totalitarian. See this article from 2018: https://www.npr.org/2018/10/01/652037944/photos-inside-a-north-korea-that-is-changing-but-at-its-own-pace

This is interesting because even though the computers have changed so much it is fairly rare to see it used as a weapon. Apparently there have been lots of cyber attacks and counter attacks between the US and Iran and defense secretary Leon E. Panetta said that the US was at risk of a "Cyber Pearl Harbor". This raises the question of whether cyberspace could be a new front for warfare.

This article demonstrates the threat that cyberattacks pose to governments, economies, and even the people. Throughout middle school children like me we were warned of the seriousness of cyberbullying and how it could truly damage the feelings of others. However, the threats of a Cyber world war could be drastic to people all over the world. While there is no hard evidence that the latest attacks have been sanctioned by the Iranian government, the attacks have increased the disdain between Iran and the United States. In many ways the conflict does resemble bullying. Iran wants to prove that they have some power over the United states by attempting to damage our economy. They are using this entirely new medium of cyberspace to let out this aggression. The question is whether we are on the brink of a cyber war and what the consequences will be to the economy and freedom of information.

Assad continues to claim that his regime will prevail in shutting down the now 18 month old rebellion despite a series of recent defections, international sanctions, and the constant outflow of refugees to Turkey and other neighbors. He also has denied rumors that he has gone into hiding. He's generally trying to present himself as firmly in power.

Should other countries or NATO intervene militarily in Syria? Why did former UN Secretary Kofi Annan resign from his post as mediator in the Syrian conflict? Was he right to resign?

An article on how the EU has decided to deal with economic issues of its member countries.

This is an interesting article about upcoming talks to impose penalties on those countries which spend more than they are reasonably able. The article says that these talks will in some ways be a test of the countries involved, to see how committed they are to the union. It will also be interesting to see if the penalties are inforced since past penalties for countries who have debt over the set limits have not been.

Brussels wants to delve deep into the running of national economies. It should beware of digging too far

Why do people automatically assume that the nations with the most geographic proximity to one's own country are the best ones to form an international organization with? The EU appears to be suffering from a crisis of difference...In economic policy, political/cultural policy etc... Maybe it would have made more sense if like-minded countries teamed up rather than putting everyone close to each other together despite economy and political policy differences. Seems like that would make for a much more cohesive and eventually successful union.