tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4900303239154048192.post7086031851609432171..comments2024-03-06T06:34:42.881-05:00Comments on EconoSpeak: Plan B on IranUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4900303239154048192.post-29881313777945387862018-05-23T17:21:21.188-04:002018-05-23T17:21:21.188-04:00Moqtada al-Sadr, not Mohammed. Sorry about that.Moqtada al-Sadr, not Mohammed. Sorry about that.rosserjb@jmu.eduhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09300046915843554101noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4900303239154048192.post-40154573644906811702018-05-23T14:39:57.148-04:002018-05-23T14:39:57.148-04:00I shall comment on two other of the demands that h...I shall comment on two other of the demands that have been made. Several observers have spotted one that the Iranian government might be open to under a reasonable negotiation, which is not what is being proposed here, which is in fact a set of "non-negotiable demands." This is to release American hostages/prisoners (as well as ones from other nations auch as Britain as well). Iranian judicial hardliners would obviously resist, but it is pretty clear that most if not al of these people did not commit serious crimes but were arrested on obviously politically and diplomatically motivated trumped-up charges. Releasing them (as DPRK just did) would be both humanitarian and good publicity, even in the absence of any negotiations, and not all that big of a deal internally.<br /><br />The other is the matter of the Iranian missile program. This is one that many outsiders would like to see them stop and has been at the top of the complaining by the Israelis and Saudis and others. But it is also something that the Iranians were not willing to cave on during the JCPOA negotiations when there were in fact much stronger economic sanctions on than will be forthcoming now. <br /><br />Given the massive buildup by the Saudis, I have some sympathy with the Iranians not wishing to back off this without some give by relevant others. Curiously, a few months ago the effective victor of the recent Iraqi election, Mohammed al-Sadr, who ran as someone independent of both the US and Iran, urged the Iranians and Saudis to open bilateral negotiations to achieve peaceful relations in the Gulf, but was turned down by both sides. This is what the US should be advocating, which might actually lead to a cessation of the Iranian missile program, but the Saudis seem even stupider than Trump on this, as they refuse to bend on their demands on Qatar, even though their embargo against it has become a total flop.rosserjb@jmu.eduhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09300046915843554101noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4900303239154048192.post-8303411433152210982018-05-22T21:52:31.702-04:002018-05-22T21:52:31.702-04:00Facts are kryptonite to that crew.Facts are kryptonite to that crew.Sandwichmanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11159060882083015637noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4900303239154048192.post-9942453991333364982018-05-22T21:28:19.789-04:002018-05-22T21:28:19.789-04:00The best of Pompeo's demands was to give up th...The best of Pompeo's demands was to give up their heavy water reactor. But that was disabled and its core filled with concrete under the JCPOA under the supervision of the IAEA. Facts apparently don't matter with this crew.john c. halaszhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17176419625607679150noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4900303239154048192.post-75586881800473741342018-05-22T14:39:51.456-04:002018-05-22T14:39:51.456-04:00Excellent.Excellent.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com