Iran oil tanker: Gibraltar orders release of Grace 1

And fools think that acting is never necessary while appeasement and retreat can still be done.

 

Indeed there are many factors that play into geopolitical calculations of nations. At the end of the day these nations will do what is best for them.

Israel has a fair bit of international power for a small nation and they control a fair bit of the worlds wealth. It should be obvious to any observer that there is a double standard when it comes to treatment of nations. This is based primarily on two factors. Wealth is one but, equally important is which team they play for. Saudi Arabia for example - at the moment - is part of the US/Israel consortium so they are treated differently than say Iran or Syria.

Russia is not part of this consortium and neither is China. These other groups have different agenda's and sometimes these agenda's conflict. You also have the agenda of one nation within a particular consortium sometimes conflicting with the other nations in that consortium.

The colors on the geopolitical map are bleeding - far more than at any other time in recent history.

 

Iran is sui generis, but the rest of what you say holds true.

 

So why not trade in Yuan?

 

Irans best bet in case of war is to attack Dubai and flatten it. Destroy the skyscrypers, erase teh desalination plants.

 

It is not the currency per se; the banks refuse (and are also unable) to handle transfer of funds for Iran. Iran is now again cut off from the SWIFT network due to US pressures and sanctions.

Additionally, and even more significantly in some ways, given the extraterritorial reach of US sanctions, even when the US had not left the JCPOA, most banks just refused to even open an account for anyone from Iran or associated with Iran. That because these banks feared an assortment of US sanctions that levy stiff penalties on any financial institution anywhere (given that all do have USD deposit accounts and need to clear those deposits through the US treasury system and many have branches or officers etc with US ties) that deals (directly or indirectly) with anyone affiliated (or alleged to be affiliated) with a host of Iranian designated entities and individuals, to include basically all of the major economic institutions in Iran (and these days the Iranian Central Bank, the Iranian revolutionary guards, and dozens of other institutions). The "due diligence" to establish that someone residing in Iran is not in anyway affiliated with any of these organizations itself costs so much time and energy, and to have to answer US regulatory bodies about their dealings in such cases, made banks simply adopt blanket policies that said if you had an Iranian passport, we don't want your business.

There were a few banks, including a couple in China and a few smaller ones in Germany, who didn't fit this bill before although their policies have changed too. But even the Chinese banks that did deal with Iran before the US withdrew from the JCPOA and began pressuring to cut off all transactions with Iran, would only accept to open an account for Iran for deposit of Iranian funds from its oil sale. They wouldn't and sometimes couldn't transfer the funds anywhere outside of China. At that time, that basically meant that Iran had to use barter like arrangements to get any immediate value (besides its money theoretically being piled up in Chinese accounts) for its oil sales to China.

 

https://www.welt.de/politik/ausland...scher-Tanker-soll-in-der-Nacht-auslaufen.html

Wow the UK resisted the USA order. The tanker leaves Gibraltar tonight.

 

There is no legal or even "pseudo legal" basis for them to have complied with a US warrant! But it doesn't mean the ordeal for this tanker has ended. The US has threatened any port or entity or person who supports its journey with sanctions and we will have to see how that goes.

 

You mean the UK/US erased Iran's right of free passage through the straight of Gibraltar while demand Iran keeps their straight open for their business. It clearly doesn't work like that. It's absurd to by this hypocritical.

 

And tomorrow the US seizes the thing?

 

How so? Banning Iran from sending oil to Syria would be like Iran blocking western weapon delivery to Israel.

USA is a sinking empire but i doubt they go that crazy to do piracy

 

At last, the Iranian tanker appears to have finally departed. I think I read, with its crew, but I am not sure.
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2019...gibraltar-rejects-demand-190818231532908.html
Iran tanker departs after Gibraltar rejects US demand

 

Ihttps://www.cbsnews.com/news/irania...ize-newly-freed-supertanker-today-2019-08-19/
Iran warns U.S. not to seize newly-freed supertanker

Trump's latest comments in reaction to the oil tanker being released didn't say anything about the issue, but instead he tried to pretend that Iran is anxious to talk to the US but "does not know how to":

 

Well lets hope they leave it alone. I think Trump does want to talk to the Iranians. The last thing he wants is a war before next years election. I also heard that he was brought into accepting given up the Jcopa by being flattered that Iran would be desperate to talk to him and do anything he wanted and he would be remembered as a real 'peace maker.

 

Sometimes I even feel sorry for him, since he is so clearly out of his depth. While I really don't think Iran would talk with him regardless of what he says, or even regardless of what he does (even lifting some of the sanctions), for him to try to at least be coherent and put the onus on Iran's government to meet him half way, he would IMO need to do the following:

1- Not just chastise Bolton, as he has done in the past, but fire him in a public way. Saying he was specifically firing Bolton because the guy was pursuing his own agendas on Iran.
2- Indicate that he would suspend all sanctions against Iran from the time Iran officially accepts to negotiate and during the course of such negotiations.
3- Not only mention again that there are no "preconditions" for such talks, but be explicit that the primary purpose of the talks would be to ensure that Iran and the US can reestablish normal diplomatic and economic relations on the basis of mutual respect.

If he does what I suggest above, I think there will then be real domestic pressure within Iran for Iran's leadership to allow negotiations with the US. Even though for Iran's leadership, diplomatic relations with the US is the last thing they want.

 

The barbarians fund their activities with illegally sourced money. Stopping their activities is not piracy but instead compliance with the rule of international law.

 

Did you miss them taking tankers before this happened? Do you not know what tit for tat is?

And did you see that chamberlain style appeasement only got a "we didn't promise you **** thanks for releasing the ship dumbass" announcement from the iranians? Great strategy there.


Almost as good as this one >

 

You call USA barbarians? War against Iraq? illegal. Sanctions against Iran? Illegal by international law.

Btw the EU said Irans sales of oil are legal.

In the end, even your UK poodle leaves you and set the iranian ship free.

So what is left of your law? Even your vasalls left you alone in that. Your bullying gets to pathetic and desperate.

But you are free to show me UN installed sanctions against Iran, since only those would be right according to international law.

I have news for you, US law is not international law. And you lack the power to push your will through nowdays.

 

Like Trump is doing with China vis-a-vis Hong Kong, and also with North Korea, you mean?

 

I've been warning that Trump was taking things too far, overplaying our position and pressing friends and foes alike too hard. I knew that his stupidity would cost us power and influence and ultimately weaken rather than strengthen this country.

It's one of many reasons he is a Russian asset.

 

I guess I missed that one. Please enlighten me when that happened. As I recall, the Brits were the first to take an Iranian tanker, before Iran responded and took a British tanker. Not that Iran needs to always follow suit: ultimately, this economic war didn't start with Iran. It has been waged by the US for decades and made even more obvious when the US pulled out of an agreement it had negotiated. An agreement that had on one side, the so-called 5+1 (US, Russia, China, UK, France plus Germany) and the other side Iran, and which was then adopted by the UN security council. An agreement that specifically provided that all these extraterritorial sanctions the US has been reimposing would not be imposed!

What the US is seeking to do against Iran aside, this is a huge slap in the face of every country that signed the JCPOA -- only to be told that they now have to renege on what they agreed -- or be sanctioned for any trade they conduct with Iran!

Why should Iran pretend something that is a lie, just to make it easier for the pirates who had taken our ship to climb down from the mess they had created in the first place?

In your world, not mine, it was also "appeasement" when the US delivered (in cash) around 1.5 billion USD it owed Iran as part of not the JCPOA even, but settlement of a claim that was about to result in an award against the US for 4 times that sum! The money the US gave back to Iran was Iranian money, held illegally by the US, and returned after several decades without a dime in interest or penalty! From my perspective, someone taking your money, keeping it for several decades, and then returning it without any interest or penalty or anything else, hardly paints them as being the appeaser!

Or take the ridiculous propaganda about Iran being handed 150 billion USD as a result of the JCPOA! First, total nonsense on the facts. Second, the issue there had to do with Iranian money locked up in foreign bank accounts which were released and transferred to Iran at the same time Iran was dismantling much of its nuclear infrastructure and destroying 98% of its enriched uranium based on promises that the sanctions against Iran would be lifted. What Iran dismantled based on these fraudulent promises had come at great costs, financially and otherwise. Even if the US and everyone else had kept their promises on the sanctions issue, I would still find Iran to be the side to have been defrauded in that deal! We gave up for "peanuts" a "nuclear surge capacity" that we had worked hard to develop, for things which Iran could

 

France was always very critical towards USA. That Germany broke away from USA like it is now, was unspeakable like 5 years ago. Merkel openly acting against US interests was something experts would never have forseen. And now even the UK...once known as US poodle acts on its own and refuses to follow the american orders.

Its crazy how fast US influence shrinks globally.

Under Trump it got so crazy. Look at Nordstream II Pipeline. A German energy project. And USA thinks it has ther ight to interfer in German doemstic politics. And wodners why Merkel does evrything in her power to make NS II reality.

It appears americans have ebcome detached from reality. Trump on Twitter says noone speaks for USA and at same time wants to dictate Germany.

 

Only those Americans who put Trump before country have become detached from reality. Merkel is acting against Trump's interests more than US interests. Trump's selfish and inept so-called leadership necessitates that he be ousted ASAP. He does harm every day he remains in office.

 

It's a bit like when Trump tweeted that the NK leader, Kim, sent him a "love" letter a week ago apologizing for launching some missiles, and then a couple of days after those tweets, NK test a couple more ballistic missiles. Strangely, I don't think Trump tweeted about those new tests

 

But you understand what i mean? Because of Trump Merkel could not stop Nordstream II even if she wanted too.

Merkel actually was quite critical about this pipeline, since it was a project of the former chancellor Schröder. When trump staretd to insult Germany, said he would sanction Germany for a german interior issue, Merkel had no otehr chance than to push NS II through. No independend nation could ever allow to bow from such bullying.

Trump eitehr doesnt get this or does it on purpose.