U.S. official says EU aid for Iran sends 'wrong message'

 

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The top U.S. envoy on Iran criticized a European Union decision to give $20.7 million in aid to Tehran on Friday, saying it sent "the wrong message at the wrong time," and he urged Brussels to help Washington end the Iranian threat to global stability.

 

"Foreign aid from European taxpayers perpetuates the regime's ability to neglect the needs of its people and stifles meaningful policy changes," Brian Hook, the U.S. special representative for Iran, said in a statement.

 

"The Iranian people face very real economic pressures caused by their government's corruption, mismanagement, and deep investment in terrorism and foreign conflicts," he added. "The United States and the European Union should be working together instead to find lasting solutions that truly support Iran's people and end the regime's threats to regional and global stability."

 

The EU decision on Thursday to provide 18 million euros ($20.7 million) in aid to Iran was aimed at offsetting the impact of U.S. sanctions as European countries try to salvage the 2015 agreement that saw Tehran limit its nuclear ambitions.

 

President Donald Trump pulled the United States out of the nuclear deal in May and is reimposing sanctions on Tehran, even as other parties to the accord are trying to find ways to save the agreement.

 

The EU funding is part of a wider package of 50 million euros earmarked in the EU budget for Iran, which has threatened to stop complying with the nuclear accord if it fails to see the economic benefit of relief from sanctions.

 

The United States is pressing other countries to comply with its sanctions.

 

"More money in the hands of the ayatollah means more money to conduct assassinations in those very European countries," Hook said in his statement.

 

U.S. national security adviser John Bolton told Reuters during a visit to Israel earlier this week that the return of U.S. sanctions was having a strong effect on Iran's economy and popular opinion.

 

The U.S. sanctions dusted off this month targeted Iran's car industry, trade in gold and other precious metals, and purchases of U.S. dollars crucial to international financing and investment and trade relations. Farther-reaching sanctions are to follow in November on Iran's banking sector and oil exports.

 

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2018-08-25

Any message that ain’t trump’s message is the wrong message these days. 

36 minutes ago, rooster59 said:

The United States and the European Union should be working together instead to find lasting solutions that truly support Iran's people and end the regime's threats to regional and global stability."

There was a solution in place. 

 

You abandoned it, with nothing to replace it. 

Shouldn't walked out of an international deal to start with.

3 hours ago, rooster59 said:

   < snip "The Iranian people face very real economic pressures caused by their government's corruption, mismanagement, and deep investment in terrorism and foreign conflicts," he added. "The United States and the European Union should be working together instead to find lasting solutions that truly support Iran's people and end the regime's threats to regional and global stability." snip>

 

IMHO the us is the greatest threat to regional and global stability. How many countries has the USA tried to destabilise over the last 60 or 70 years (including Iran) and how many countries has Iran destabilised over the same period of time.

 

If the USA wants to work together with the EU over Iran, then the US should not have pulled out of the Iran agreement.

How many wars were initiated by the US involving into something they thought and think it's right but not having a glue of an idea how many countries are "running" and now we face the mess all over many places in this world USA left to the rest of the world. 

EU can't and shouldn't work together with the USA in many cases as they would follow one of the most lies in the worl:Donald Trump. One of the most dangerous leaders of a country!!! 

And maybe the EU in particular, and rest of the world, could say to the US that it is Trump that sends the wrong message about Iran...

Washington, shut it, shut your mouth.

You make yourself look ridiculious and absurd with your comments to the newspapers. Do yourself a favour and say nothing, you're constantly shooting yourself in the foot with your comments.

You went and removed Iran's democratically elected government back in the early 1950s, you carried out that coup. And you installed your puppet, the Shah. Here's the link from wikipedia.  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1953_Iranian_coup_d'état

Yes, today, you can't even be bothered to deny and hide this. The puppet Shah, he was booted out in 1979 or 1980, is it that surprising that the people of Iran don't actually trust you ? 




I'm not from Iran, I'm nothing to do with Iran. But I still feel that you've been against Iran since 1980. That's because the Iranians removed your puppet. And we're suppose to back you, in your war against Iran ? Get real, stop living in a dream world.

"Foreign aid from European taxpayers perpetuates the regime's ability to neglect the needs of its people and stifles meaningful policy changes,"  .............How brain dead do you have to be to believe this BS, give people money and it makes them poorer.  The people of Iran support their government, it's one of the countries whose democratically elected leaders (Powerful theocracy notwithstanding) the CIA has not managed to undermine, well not for many decades anyway.

 

"The Iranian people face very real economic pressures caused by their government's corruption, mismanagement, and deep investment in terrorism and foreign conflicts,"................The US would certainly understand "deep investment in terrorism and foreign conflicts", must have cost their taxpayers a bomb (No pun intended)

 

The United States is pressing other countries to comply with its sanctions.............attempting to bully other countries into.............

 

"More money in the hands of the Ayatollah means more money to conduct assassinations in those very European countries,"...............There is no record I can find of Shia assassinations, or terrorism in European countries, that's your best chums the Sunnis who do that. Iran is a Shia county, Brian Hook, you total (Deleted) idiot.

So does sitting in rooms with despots like putin and no officials present.

So does getting lawyers to pay off hookers on your behalf.

So does lying to the american people time and time again

Agree with the OP in that they should be working together.

And as I recall they were until the US pulled out of that working together.

2 hours ago, Tailwagsdog said:

Its hard to believe some people in the world can actually have such a toxic opinion, one can only assume they are not well read from multiple sources and in fact are probably victims of the fake news. 

There maybe some truth in saying that Trump is not a rascist per se. He is of course a thin skinned narcissist, with a vast ego, a coward, a bully, and many other things besides, however his pursuit of a rascist agenda is quite likely to be simply about shoring up the support of his brainless base in the flyover states. He is so self obsessed that he may well not even have though of, actively disliking any other particular group of people. Suggesting that people who read things you don't agree with are reading fake news, is a double edged sword.

On 8/26/2018 at 3:04 AM, Tailwagsdog said:

Its hard to believe some people in the world can actually have such a toxic opinion, one can only assume they are not well read from multiple sources and in fact are probably victims of the fake news. 

We have got our freedom of speech and we have got access to just about every newspaper and news outlet. Most of us here on this Thaivisa post are against Washington's policy on Iran. You can see for yourself. You have come along here and you claim that people are "not well read from multiple sources and in fact are probably victims of the fake news".

You should ask yourself why most people are against Washington's policy, and why most people do not share your view. Do you really think that it is the case, that's most people here are not well read, and most people here are victims of fake news ? People simply don't have your opinion.


And we here, with our freedom of speech, most of us are against Washington. What about the people of Iran ? Have they got free speech ? If the people of Iran had free speech, and if they had access to lots of news sources, would they feel the same way as us ? Would they also reckon that Washington's policy towards Iran is wrong ?  Think about it.

A hyperbolic conspiracy post has been removed as well as the replies. 

 

Off topic posts and the replies have been removed.