The World at War

After announcing new sanctions, President Trump says Iran can "never" have a nuclear weapon

[link to twitter.com (secure)]

Trump laid down the gauntlet with this. The Iranian leadership has allowed their own citizens to suffer under sanctions for years. If they suddenly decide to do something now that their own livelihoods are being affected, it's not going to sit well with the Iranian people.

Treasury secretary says some of new U.S. sanctions against Iran were "in the works" before U.S. drone shot down and six oil tankers attacked

Iran's "National Development Fund," stacking tens of billions of dollars through the years from oil and gas exports (money belonging to the Iranian people), is believed to be personally controlled by Khamenei himself.

[link to twitter.com (secure)]

I like it. However, is this consistent with Trump's tweet about why is the US protecting the shipping lanes for other countries (many years) for zero compensation"? [link to www.zerohedge.com (secure)]

I agree with Graham on this one: "Mr. President, you are right: our allies and stakeholders in the Straight of Hormuz should do more. However, safe navigation of sea lanes -- vital to a world economy -- is always in America's national security interest," Graham tweeted.

Update - U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin:
Khamenei's office & all his property/assets are included in the new U.S. sanctions on Iran.

[link to twitter.com (secure)]

-Washington will add Iran's foreign minister to sanctions list "later this week"
-New sanctions include "eight senior commanders of Navy, Aerospace, and Ground Forces of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC)" & more Iranian assets worth billions of dollars

[link to twitter.com (secure)]

Sudan must end repression and let monitors in, says U.N. rights boss

[link to twitter.com (secure)]

This is going to do it

Are these new sanctions effective immediately? Or is there red tape crap it has to go through first?

Okay, I am not up to speed on all these sanctions and their effects, but I thought the US had already sanctioned about as much as possible against Iran. Seeing as these sanctions are targeting the actual ruling class and their direct assets, is this really it?

It seems like they are in a corner, do they attack?

According to Trump, they are effective immediately

To clarify, is effective immediately literal- or a loose definition?

Sorry. Had to go read the article, among other things.

Maybe Trump is hinting that it could be cheaper for others in the long run if they bought American oil? There's no need to police any ships here.

This is the first I have seen on Iranian reactions to the new sanctions

Iran's hardline media say new U.S. sanctions based on "fabricated excuses" [link to news.yahoo.com (secure)]

I am sure much more to come.

Hezbollah is now giving orders to Syria’s army – and using it to spy on Israel

In a reality once unthinkable, Assad’s troops along Golan border are heeding commanders of the Iran-backed terror group, and helping it prepare for conflict with the Jewish state

[link to www.timesofisrael.com (secure)]

Well, the orders are effective immediately, but one can assume, as a practical matter, there may be a little lag time to actually "flip the switches"

Javad Zarif Verified account@JZarif

Donald Trump is 100% right that the US military has no business in the Persian Gulf. Removal of its forces is fully in line with interests of US and the world. But it's now clear that the B_Team is not concerned with US interests—they despise diplomacy, and thirst for war.

[link to twitter.com (secure)]

Wether we like it or not if we don’t maintain a presence there other parties who are no where near as friendly as we are will them take the opportunity. That little part of the world has an insane impact on energy prices so a large uptick in such will have drastic consequences on the economy. We are mostly energy independent but not all the way there

New U.S. sanctions on Iran's regime include:
-IRGC Navy chief Ali Reza Tangsiri
-IRGC Aerospace Force chief Amirali Hajizadeh
-IRGC Ground Forces chief Mohammad Pakpour
and IRGC Navy’s five naval districts.

[link to twitter.com (secure)]

Not sure when it's starting but here's a live feed from UN meeting on Iran



also Live: Trump speaks after placing new sanctions on Iran

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will chair a trilateral meeting tomorrow, of the US, Russian and Israeli national security advisers. The talks will focus on Iran, Syria and regional issues.

[link to twitter.com (secure)]

“I had a lot of problems with Iran when I was in office.”

Jimmy Carter praises @realdonaldtrump's handling of Iran.

[link to twitter.com (secure)]



ugh

Let's begin with the secret which was recently revealed by PM Netanyahu: The Iranian Foreign Ministry headed by Zarif secretly funds Hezbollah, a terrorist org which has been designated as a FTO by the U.S., and its 910 Unit seeks to destabilize the security across the U.S.

[link to twitter.com (secure)]

Who gives a shit.

Dumbass.

Mexico has deployed nearly 15,000 soldiers and National Guardsmen to its border with the United States, the army chief said Monday -- admitting they are detaining migrants who try to cross, after the policy triggered backlash

[link to twitter.com (secure)]