Archive for the ‘Iran’ tag
European Union backs New Sanctions on Iran
European Union (EU) nations decided on Monday to impose new sanctions on Iran for its failure to comply with demands to cease its nuclear program. The new sanctions will prevent people associated with the nuclear program from entering EU nations and will freeze the assets of Bank Melli, Iran’s largest bank.
Hagel to Bush: Begin Unilateral and Unconditional Talks with Iran | Leaked Letter
Senator Chuck Hagel’s letter to President George Bush has leaked. In the straightforward letter, Hagel insists that the time has come to engage Iran in a one-on-one conversation to address the sour relationship between the two countries. It seems like his point his fairly obvious - he wants to stop beating around the bush and initiate direct dialogue with Iran’s government in order to prevent a seemingly inevitable ‘clash of civilizations.’
Hagel expresses support for Bush’s efforts in Iraq and Iran and respectfully points out that our current policy towards Iran is not producing results:
I am increasingly concerned, however, that this diplomatic strategy is stalling.
Hagel continues to explain that this hostile situation can erupt at any time if it is not handled appropriately:
Unless there is a strategic shift, I believe we will find ourselves in a dangerous and increasingly isolated position in the coming months.
Here is the text of Chuck Hagel’s letter to George Bush: Read the rest of this entry »
Iran-Pakistan-India: Laying the ‘Peace Pipeline’
Iran and Pakistan have decided to go through with the Pipeline without India (Link 1, Link 2)
A Natural Gas Pipeline that will connect these three critical nations.
Iran, Pakistan, and India, collectively known as the IPI, are very close to finalizing the ‘Peace Pipeline’ plan that would drop a critical natural gas supply line that would run through the three neighboring countries. As always, there is a catch (or several) - and India is weary of signing on because of the Price Revision Clause being imposed by Iran that would base the price of the natural gas on a formula that utilizes Japan’s gas market as a benchmark. Nevertheless, India’s participation in the ‘Peace Pipeline’ doesn’t seem to matter as much to Iran and Pakistan as they continue bilateral talks that suggest India’s role as merely an added bonus that would sweeten the deal. Pakistan’s ambassador to Iran, Shafkat Saeed, insists that if India rejects the terms of the deal, the oil will be routed through China instead.
�We have informed Iran that we are prepared to transfer Iran�s gas to China through this pipeline should India decide not to join the gas project.� [ Associated Press of Pakistan, Oct 2007 ]
Though India has assured that it will take part in the TAPI (Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India) gas pipeline - it is clear that the TAPI pipeline is not a replacement for the Iran-Pakistan-India pipeline, and their lack of an absolute decision in light of U.S. pressure is proof that the IPI pipeline stands to bring benefit to the Indian economy. Read the rest of this entry »
