The US is set to announce that Iran is not complying with the international prohibitions on the manufacture of chemical weapons, despite being a signatory to the Chemical Weapons Convention, because US intelligence agencies believe that Iran maintains a chemical arsenal that probably includes blister agents, blood and choking agents, and nerve agents.
The US told the fourth annual meeting of the intergovernmental organization in The Hague about their concerns that Iran is developing “central nervous system–acting chemicals” for offensive military purposes.
Kenneth Ward, the US Permanent Representative to the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, cited three examples of Iran’s devious behaviour regarding this.
These included that the Regime failed to declare its capability to fill weapons with chemicals, didn’t announce the transfer of chemical-filled shells to Libya in the 1980s, and markets CR gas, a notorious chemical weapon, as riot control agent at defence expos.
The Regime, of course, went into defence mode and attempted to divert attention, with the Foreign Ministry claiming that US “animosity towards the Iranian people” was responsible for these “dangerous” allegations.
This allegation something that will inevitably see more sanctions levied against the Gulf nation and fit in with the administration’s “maximum pressure” campaign.
The campaign is designed to cut Iran off from the income that it uses to fund terrorist actions, proxy groups, and other malign activities across the region because Donald Trump and his administration view Iran as the biggest threat to peace and security in the Middle East.
Until recently, Iran enjoyed a lot of support in the West, but this is something that has changed dramatically since Trump took office. They still have lingering support in Europe, but this is dwindling by the day, especially as new information comes out about the Regime’s malign actions.
Richard Nephew, a sanctions expert and senior researcher at Columbia University, said that even Iran’s biggest trading partners must now be concerned about their access to the US markets if they wish to continue supporting Iran. This is especially true after National Security Adviser John Bolton explained that the US would not allow Europe to evade US sanctions.
Of course, the US may actually be a minor threat to the Regime, compared with the domestic upheaval that has shaken Iran over the past year, with ordinary people from across Iran coming out against the Regime, despite harsh security measures and the ever-present threat of arrest.
Hassan Mahmoudi, a human rights advocate, specializing in political and economic issues relating to Iran and the Middle East, wrote: “International pressure on the mullahs is good. Iran’s beleaguered people can only hope that it will continue because the mullahs cannot ignore this pressure forever.”
Source » ncr-iran