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Trump administration piles on sanctions as the rest of the world helps Iran confront COVID-19

The Trump administration claims to support Iranian citizens, but it won't put its anti-Iran hysteria on hold for a minute to help them out amid a pandemic.

Analysis | Washington Politics

As Iran confronts a crisis that could kill millions of its citizens, much of the rest of the world, except for the United States, is coming to its aid.

China, the original source of the novel coronavirus, has sent medical experts and planeloads of supplies to Iran, the third most affected country after China and Italy.

Iran’s neighbors, and sometime rivals, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, and Qatar, have also provided cash and goods, setting aside their other differences with the Islamic Republic.

Britain, France, and Germany, the so-called E3, stepped forward, pledging $5.6 million as well as medical goods, including equipment for lab tests, protective body suits, and gloves. “France, Germany and the United Kingdom express their full solidarity with all impacted by COVID-19 in Iran,” the E3 wrote in a statement. “We are offering Iran a comprehensive package of both material and financial support to combat the rapid spread of the disease.”

And what of the world’s greatest power?

The Trump administration says it offered help, too, but was rebuffed by Tehran, which is instead calling for suspension of the heavy sanctions the U.S. imposed after unilaterally quitting the Iran nuclear deal. The U.S. has so far rejected this. Instead, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced yet more sanctions on individuals and entities seeking to circumvent the sanctions. He also urged Iran to free U.S. prisoners — a worthy demand but one that should not be a precondition for sanctions relief ­— and told Iranians to download an encrypted app to report on their government’s mishandling of the pandemic.

There is no doubt that Iran has mismanaged its initial response — as have many countries, including the U.S., and that Iran is responsible for many abhorent policies. However, now is not the time for recriminations — or for regime change propaganda — but for the entire world to cooperate as best as possible against this most pressing global crisis, one that puts the Iran threat in a different context.

The Trump administration, which purports to care about ordinary Iranians, could announce that it is suspending for the duration of the pandemic financial sanctions that make it nearly impossible for Iranians to pay for essential supplies. It could, at a minimum, not block Iran’s request for an emergency $5 billion loan from the International Monetary Fund.

More ambitiously, the pandemic could lay the ground for “viral” diplomacy to begin to heal the chasm between Washington and Tehran. Unfortunately, however, the Trump administration appears wedded to “maximum pressure” and seems to fear that easing sanctions will somehow make it look weak.

Even more ominously, a new spasm of tit-for-tat attacks has begun in Iraq, leading to several American and Iraqi deaths. There are murmurs in Washington that the U.S will hit Iran hard in another ill-advised attempt to re-establish “deterrence” — something. that the drone assassination of senior Iranian military leader Qassem Soleimani back in January clearly failed to accomplish.

In fact, the U.S military presence in Iraq — as this author predicted back in January — is becoming more and more untenable. Already, the U.S. has left three bases in Iraq and consolidated the American presence in and close to Baghdad in what could be a prelude to a U.S. withdrawal in coming weeks. Iraq itself is in political limbo as it tries to confirm a new prime minister and is contending with both the coronavirus and the shock of collapsing oil prices to its oil-based economy.

Calls for the U.S. to suspend sanctions against Iran — which have also hurt Iraq and other Iranian neighbors — are coming from a number of quarters, including U.S. allies and Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders. Sanders tweeted on Wednesday: “Iran is facing a catastrophic toll from the coronavirus pandemic. U.S. sanctions should not be contributing to this humanitarian disaster. As a caring nation, we must lift any sanctions hurting Iran’s ability to address this crisis, including financial sanctions.”

The U.S. has helped Iran in the past, even during periods of high tension. In late 2003, the U.S. military sent planeloads of relief supplies to the ancient city of Bam, which had just experienced a devastating earthquake.

Today, the spring equinox, is also Nowruz, the Persian New Year. It is a time to turn the page and try to build a better future. Compassion is not weakness but a sign of humanity and strength. The Trump administration can do better on many fronts; a gesture toward Iran is an easy step.


Photo credit: U.S. State Department
Analysis | Washington Politics
Trump Zelensky
Top photo credit: Joshua Sukoff / Shutterstock.com

Blob exploiting Trump's anger with Putin, risking return to Biden's war

Europe

Donald Trump’s recent outburst against Vladimir Putin — accusing the Russian leader of "throwing a pile of bullsh*t at us" and threatening devastating new sanctions — might be just another Trumpian tantrum.

The president is known for abrupt reversals. Or it could be a bargaining tactic ahead of potential Ukraine peace talks. But there’s a third, more troubling possibility: establishment Republican hawks and neoconservatives, who have been maneuvering to hijack Trump’s “America First” agenda since his return to office, may be exploiting his frustration with Putin to push for a prolonged confrontation with Russia.

Trump’s irritation is understandable. Ukraine has accepted his proposed ceasefire, but Putin has refused, making him, in Trump’s eyes, the main obstacle to ending the war.

Putin’s calculus is clear. As Ted Snider notes in the American Conservative, Russia is winning on the battlefield. In June, it captured more Ukrainian territory and now threatens critical Kyiv’s supply lines. Moscow also seized a key lithium deposit critical to securing Trump’s support for Ukraine. Meanwhile, Russian missile and drone strikes have intensified.

Putin seems convinced his key demands — Ukraine’s neutrality, territorial concessions in the Donbas and Crimea, and a downsized Ukrainian military — are more achievable through war than diplomacy.

Yet his strategy empowers the transatlantic “forever war” faction: leaders in Britain, France, Germany, and the EU, along with hawks in both main U.S. parties. German Chancellor Friedrich Merz claims that diplomacy with Russia is “exhausted.” Europe’s war party, convinced a Russian victory would inevitably lead to an attack on NATO (a suicidal prospect for Moscow), is willing to fight “to the last Ukrainian.” Meanwhile, U.S. hawks, including liberal interventionist Democrats, stoke Trump’s ego, framing failure to stand up to Putin’s defiance as a sign of weakness or appeasement.

Trump long resisted this pressure. Pragmatism told him Ukraine couldn’t win, and calling it “Biden’s war” was his way of distancing himself, seeking a quick exit to refocus on China, which he has depicted as Washington’s greater foreign threat. At least as important, U.S. involvement in the war in Ukraine has been unpopular with his MAGA base.

But his June strikes on Iran may signal a hawkish shift. By touting them as a decisive blow to Iran’s nuclear program (despite Tehran’s refusal so far to abandon uranium enrichment), Trump may be embracing a new approach to dealing with recalcitrant foreign powers: offer a deal, set a deadline, then unleash overwhelming force if rejected. The optics of “success” could tempt him to try something similar with Russia.

This pivot coincides with a media campaign against restraint advocates within the administration like Elbridge Colby, the Pentagon policy chief who has prioritized China over Ukraine and also provoked the opposition of pro-Israel neoconservatives by warning against war with Iran. POLITICO quoted unnamed officials attacking Colby for wanting the U.S. to “do less in the world.” Meanwhile, the conventional Republican hawk Marco Rubio’s influence grows as he combines the jobs of both secretary of state and national security adviser.

What Can Trump Actually Do to Russia?
 

Nuclear deterrence rules out direct military action — even Biden, far more invested in Ukraine than Trump, avoided that risk. Instead, Trump ally Sen.Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), another establishment Republican hawk, is pushing a 500% tariff on nations buying Russian hydrocarbons, aiming to sever Moscow from the global economy. Trump seems supportive, although the move’s feasibility and impact are doubtful.

China and India are key buyers of Russian oil. China alone imports 12.5 million barrels daily. Russia exports seven million barrels daily. China could absorb Russia’s entire output. Beijing has bluntly stated it “cannot afford” a Russian defeat, ensuring Moscow’s economic lifeline remains open.

The U.S., meanwhile, is ill-prepared for a tariff war with China. When Trump imposed 145% tariffs, Beijing retaliated by cutting off rare earth metals exports, vital to U.S. industry and defense. Trump backed down.

At the G-7 summit in Canada last month, the EU proposed lowering price caps on Russian oil from $60 a barrel to $45 a barrel as part of its 18th sanctions package against Russia. Trump rejected the proposal at the time but may be tempted to reconsider, given his suggestion that more sanctions may be needed. Even if Washington backs the measure now, however, it is unlikely to cripple Russia’s war machine.

Another strategy may involve isolating Russia by peeling away Moscow’s traditionally friendly neighbors. Here, Western mediation between Armenia and Azerbaijan isn’t about peace — if it were, pressure would target Baku, which has stalled agreements and threatened renewed war against Armenia. The real goal is to eject Russia from the South Caucasus and create a NATO-aligned energy corridor linking Turkey to Central Asia, bypassing both Russia and Iran to their detriment.

Central Asia itself is itself emerging as a new battleground. In May 2025, the EU has celebrated its first summit with Central Asian nations in Uzbekistan, with a heavy focus on developing the Middle Corridor, a route for transportation of energy and critical raw materials that would bypass Russia. In that context, the EU has committed €10 billion in support of the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route.

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Top image credit: People line up to buy bread, after Syria's Bashar al-Assad was ousted, in Douma, on the outskirts of Damascus, Syria December 23, 2024. REUTERS/Zohra Bensemra

Lifting sanctions on Syria exposes their cruel intent

Middle East

On June 30, President Trump signed an executive order terminating the majority of U.S. sanctions on Syria. The move, which would have been unthinkable mere months ago, fulfilled a promise he made at an investment forum in Riyadh in May.“The sanctions were brutal and crippling,” he had declared to an audience of primarily Saudi businessmen. Lifting them, he said, will “give Syria a chance at greatness.”

The significance of this statement lies not solely in the relief that it will bring to the Syrian people. His remarks revealed an implicit but rarely admitted truth: sanctions — often presented as a peaceful alternative to war — have been harming the Syrian people all along.

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Taipei skyline, Taiwan. (Shutterstock/ YAO23)

The 8-point buzzsaw facing any invasion of Taiwan

Asia-Pacific

For the better part of a decade, China has served as the “pacing threat” around which American military planners craft defense policy and, most importantly, budget decisions.

Within that framework, a potential Chinese invasion of Taiwan has become the scenario most often cited as the likeliest flashpoint for a military confrontation between the two superpowers.

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