Left: Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said “there will be no deal” if the sanctions are not lifted. (Office of the Iranian Supreme Leader via AP)
“If somebody tells you he wants to cut your throat, the last thing you do is buy him a knife” – Senator Lindsey Graham
Unable to recognize the Iranian threat, Senate Democratic leader, Harry Reid, called into question the intelligence of those opposing the Iran deal. However, Reid’s “Best reason” to support the deal, as he explained on CNN, is because “Cheney’s against it.”
While pressuring 41 Democratic Senators to support his deal, President Obama failed to convince the American people, the majority of which opposes it for reasons similar to that of Senator Graham.
As debates continue in the United States, the Europeans are trampling over each other as they rush to offer business deals to the mullahs and eagerly bolster cultural and academic ties with Iran.
It’s busy in Tehran. On September 8, in a joint press conference with his Iranian counterpart Hassan Rouhani, Austrian President Heinz Fischer announced: “Austria’s bilateral trade with Iran will grow to $335 million” this year. He emphasized Vienna’s willingness “to cooperate with Iran in both political and economic fields.” Later, a delegation of some 230 Austrian businessmen signed 15 memoranda of understanding (MoUs) worth over 80 million euros with the Iranians.
Germany’s Ambassador Michael Freiherr von Ungern-Sternberg, also in Tehran, met with Iranian Culture Minister Ali Jannati, and called to resume for holding Iranian cultural weeks in Germany. Fars News quoted him urging the Iranian to “endeavor to strengthen cultural ties between the two nations, which have had profound relations since far past.” Sounds encouraging.
The same day, Iranian news agency reported that “Three giant oil companies from Europe, China and an Arab country” have offered to invest in Iran’s liquefied natural gas (LNG) project.
Spain has also announced its readiness to invest in Iran’s renewable energy projects, and Italy declared it plans to invest more than $2 billion there. And Britain, which re-opened its Embassy in Tehran last month, declared it is planning to offer assistance to companies seeking business in Iran, as soon as the sanctions are lifted, as Iranian Technology Minister Mahmoud Vaezi reiterated, by December. However, it is estimated that investments from Europe, China and other countries will boost Iran’s $388 billion economy, even before the end of 2015.
With this underway, it would not be surprising to find out that those supporting Obama’s deal, have come under pressure not only from him and his minions, but also from American companies forced to sit on the sideline, watching the Europeans, China and India are cornering the Iranian trade. Surely they are interested in Congressional approval and are helping Obama solicit it.
Like the President, their interest is in the short term. If the funds help Iran pay for nuclear weapons and terrorism, they hope the Iranian would understand and at least wait until after the U.S. election, and preferably after Obama leaves office. For that they are willing to trust Iran with nuclear knife.