The GCC should seize the initiative and propose talks if western powers are unable to start negotiations with Iran.In spite of bluster from belligerent hawks in the United States and Israel, it is highly unlikely that either country will attack Iran in the near future. Israel will not dare attack Iran alone, while US President Barack Obama has made it clear — if not perhaps quite clear enough — that, after its costly wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, the US has no intention of allowing itself to be pushed or pulled into another disastrous Middle East war.
The US is cutting $500 billion (Dh1.84 trillion) from its military budget over the next decade. It is trying to get out of Afghanistan without admitting defeat. Instead of ‘boots on the ground’, it is switching to cyber warfare and unmanned drones in its counter-insurgency and counter-terrorist efforts.
Instead of a hot war against Iran, the US and its European allies are waging economic warfare against Tehran with the declared aim of forcing it to suspend uranium enrichment. The undeclared aim would seem to be regime change.
On December 31, Obama signed into law a new set of sanctions against Iran’s oil exports and Central Bank. On January 23, the European Union followed suit. On the same day, the US Treasury Department announced sanctions on Bank Tejerat, Iran’s third largest bank. As the sanctions noose tightens, the Iranian rial has lost half its value since October. Read More
