Britain to ban Russian linked ships from its ports

Britain said on Tuesday it had passed a law that would ban all ships that have any connection to Russia from entering its ports. Britain had said on Monday that it wanted all ports to refuse entry to ships that were Russian flagged, registered or controlled while it drew up new legislation.

"We've just become the first nation to pass a law involving a total ban of all ships with any Russian connection whatsoever from entering British ports," Transport Secretary Grant Shapps said on Twitter.

Ukraine's Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba called on Tuesday for more international sanctions against Russia after what he said was a "barbaric" attack on the city of Kharkiv.

"Barbaric Russian missile strikes on the central Freedom Square and residential districts of Kharkiv. (Russian President Vladimir) Putin is unable to break Ukraine down. He commits more war crimes out of fury, murders innocent civilians," Kuleba said on social media.

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky officially applied on Monday to join the European Union, with the application being on its way to Brussels for processing, Ukrainian President's Office deputy head Andrij Sybiha wrote on Facebook.

In response, the heads of state for eight different EU member states – Bulgaria, Estonia, Lithuania, Latvia, Poland, Slovakia, Slovenia and the Czech Republic – pushed for vastly expediting Ukraine's admission into the bloc. 

"We call on EU member states to consolidate highest political support to Ukraine and enable the EU institutions to conduct steps to immediately grant Ukraine an EU candidate country status and open the process of negotiations," the leaders wrote, as noted on the official website of the Lithuanian president.

This follows Slovakian Prime Minister Eduard Heger telling Politico that Ukraine should have a "special track" towards EU membership.

“They fight for themselves, they fight for us — they fight for freedom,” Heger said told Politico. “We have to realize that they are protecting our system, our values and we have to be together with them. So there is no time to hesitate on this.”

Overall, support for Ukraine is strong in the EU, as noted in a recent op-ed in The Jerusalem Post by EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell.

"This is a matter of life and death," Borrell noted. "I am preparing an emergency package to support the Ukrainian armed forces in their fight."

European Commission President Ursula von der Leye told Euronews Sunday that Ukraine is "one of us and we want them in the European Union."

Several European nations have already sent considerable funds and munitions towards Ukraine, as well as levying sanctions against Moscow, as have their allies abroad such as the US.

As the war enters its sixth day, around 350,000 people have entered Poland from Ukraine since Russia invaded the country, a Polish deputy interior minister said on Tuesday.

"Over the last 24 hours 100,000 people crossed the Polish-Ukrainian border," Maciej Wasik told public broadcaster Polskie Radio 1. "In total, since Thursday, there have already been 350,000 refugees."

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said on Tuesday morning that US Secretary of State Antony Blinken had offered his country more support in the form of sanctions and weapons.

"In our call, Secretary Blinken affirmed that the US support for Ukraine remains unfaltering," Kuleba said on Twitter. "I underscored that Ukraine craves for peace, but as long as we are under Russia's assault we need more sanctions and weapons. The US Secretary of State assured me of both. We coordinated further steps."

The prospects of a diplomatic resolution to the Ukraine crisis are slim at the moment, Britain's Deputy Prime Minister Dominic Raab said on Tuesday.

Asked on LBC Radio whether Russian billionaire businessman Roman Abramovich, who has accepted a Ukrainian request to help negotiate an end to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, could be key to the solution, Raab responded: "Who knows?"

China criticizes sanctions against Russia

China on Wednesday criticized the expansion of economic sanctions against Russia, saying that penalties were unlikely to solve the Ukraine crisis, on the contrary these can hurt common man as well as the interests of Beijing, The New York Times reported.

“The position of the Chinese government is that we believe that sanctions have never been a fundamental and effective way to solve problems, and China always opposes any illegal unilateral sanctions,” Hua Chunying, a spokeswoman for China’s foreign ministry, said at a regular press briefing on Wednesday.

Member states of the European Union have given their green light, via their envoys in Brussels, to the first package of sanctions on Russia, an EU diplomat said.

The sanctions still need formal approval by the foreign ministers and will enter into force once these are published in the EU's official journal, a step expected later on Wednesday.

Ukraine on Wednesday urged the West to impose more sanctions on Russia that target the economy and the inner circle around President Vladimir Putin.

US Deputy Treasury Secretary Wally Adeyemo said on Wednesday that the US is prepared to respond to further aggression by withholding technology and resources.

"We're going to cut him off from Western technology that's critical to advancing the military, cut him off from Western financial resources that will be critical for feeding his economy and also to enriching himself," Adeyemo said in an interview with CNBC.

In a phone call, Erdogan told Putin that military conflict in the region would not benefit anyone and repeated his offer to help achieve a solution, his office said. Erdogan also said he valued Putin's close cooperation on regional issues and wanted to continue this.

"President Erdogan, who renewed his call for the matter to be resolved through dialog, stated that it was important to bring diplomacy to the forefront, and that Turkey continued its constructive stance in NATO as well."

Earlier, Erdogan was cited by media as saying Turkey cannot abandon ties with Ukraine or Russia.

"First decisive steps were taken yesterday, and we are grateful for them," Ukraine Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said in a tweet. "Now the pressure needs to step up to stop Putin. Hit his economy and cronies. Hit more. Hit hard. Hit now."

Ukraine's parliament on Wednesday approved imposing sanctions on 351 Russians, including lawmakers who supported the recognition of the independence of separatist-controlled territories and the use of Russian troops in eastern Ukraine.

The sanctions restrict almost all possible types of activities, in particular, a ban on entry into Ukraine, prohibiting access to assets, capital, property, licenses for business. The Security Council was due to impose the sanctions after the vote.

One of Europe's worst security crises in decades was unfolding after Russia recognized two areas of eastern Ukraine as independent. Ukraine accused Russia of wrecking peace talks on ending an eight-year-old conflict in the region.

The sanctions began to be imposed against Russia on Tuesday after Putin ordered troops into eastern Ukraine and threatened to go further if Moscow launched an all-out invasion of its neighbor. 

 

South Korea and Iran to resume oil trade

South Korea and Iran are working closely on resuming oil trade and unfreezing Iranian funds, said South Korean Foreign Ministry. The country was previously one of Iran's leading Asian oil customers. The move coincides with negotiations resuming in Vienna to revive Tehran's 2015 nuclear agreement with world powers.

Tehran has repeatedly demanded the release of about US$7 billion of its funds frozen in South Korean banks under US sanctions, saying Seoul was holding the money hostage.

"Our side expressed hope for the resolution of issues related to sanctions such as the transfer of frozen funds upon the agreement on the restoration of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) now underway in Vienna," a South Korean statement said, using the full name of the nuclear accord.

The Iranian side stressed the importance of an early resolution of the matter of the frozen funds, it added.

Iran and South Korea are also discussing the trading of crude oil and oil products, on the condition sanctions are lifted as progress is made in nuclear negotiations, the statement said.

Previously South Korean oil buyers chiefly imported condensate, or an ultra-light form of crude oil, from Iran.

In Tehran, the Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh said Iran saw the talks as a possible indicator of attempts to re-establish trade ties with South Korea.

"This expert meeting's results can be seen as a test of South Korea's seriousness to solve existing problems between the two countries and normalizing ties, including through oil and condensate sales to Korea and Korean firms' investments in Iranian projects," Khatibzadeh told state media.

"Therefore, Iran will carefully follow up on the results of these negotiations in considering how to regulate relations between the two countries," Khatibzadeh added.

The United States reimposed sanctions on Iran in 2018 after then President Donald Trump withdrew from the nuclear deal under which Tehran agreed to curb its nuclear program in exchange for US sanctions relief.

South Korea, the world's fifth-largest crude buyer, imported a total of 12.6 million tons of crude in January against 10.3 million tons a year ago, preliminary data from the Korea Customs Service showed. 

US still trading with Iran despite sanctions

According to the data released by the Islamic Republic of Iran Customs Administration (IRICA), the value of trade between Iran and the United States has reached US$69.594 million since the beginning of the current Iranian calendar year (March 21, 2021) up to late January 2022.

As ILNA reported, during the mentioned period Iran exported US$248,000 worth of commodities to the US, while the value of imports from the country was reported at US$69.345 million.

The value of trade between the two countries increased 18% as compared to the figures for the previous year. The value of exports to the US increased 253% as compared to the previous year, when exports were reported at US$136,000.

The imports, however, decreased by 17% compared to the figure for the previous year during which Iran imported US$79.836 million worth of commodities from the US, the US ranked 23rd among the top exporters to the Islamic Republic.

The value of Iran’s non-oil exports rose 38% during the first 10 months of the current Iranian calendar year (March 21, 2021-January 20, 2022), as compared to the same period of time in the past year, according to IRICA Head Alireza Moghadasi.

Iran exported over 100 million tons of non-oil products worth US$38.763 billion in the mentioned period, the official said.

According to Moghadasi, the weight of exports in the mentioned period also grew by seven percent in comparison to the figure for the previous fiscal year’s same 10 months.

He said major export destinations of the Iranian non-oil goods were China, Iraq, and Turkey during the said 10 months.

The IRICA head further announced that the Islamic Republic imported 33 million tons of non-oil commodities worth US$41.473 billion in the mentioned period, a 34% growth in value and a 17$ rise in weight, year on year.

The United Arab Emirates was the top exporter to Iran during the period under reiew, followed by China, Turkey, Germany, and Switzerland, he stated.

Iranians casting votes to elect new president

Iranian Presidential election being held on 18th June 2021, highlight a transition of society. Whatever may be the outcome the hostility between United States and Iran must be ended. While older generation may still be with hardliners, the younger generation ‑ born and grown under economic sanctions ‑ wants a change. It would be good if the process of easing begins now or the rebel groups may start seeking foreign help.

Nearly 60 million eligible voters in Iran will decide the fate of four candidates to succeed President Hassan Rouhani. Iranians voted in a presidential election on Friday amid concerns over a low turnout with the conservative head of the judiciary, Ebrahim Raisi, widely seen as the front-runner.

“If elected, Raisi will be the first Iranian president in recent memory to have not only been sanctioned before he has taken office, but potentially sanctioned while being in office,” said analyst Jason Brodsky.

Raisi – who like his political patron the supreme leader is an implacable critic of the West – is under US sanctions for alleged involvement in executions of political prisoners decades ago.

With uncertainty surrounding Iran’s efforts to revive its 2015 nuclear deal and growing poverty at home after years of United States sanctions, the turnout for the voters is being portrayed by some analysts as a referendum on the current leadership’s handling of an array of crises. Voter enthusiasm was dampened by the disqualification of many candidates and the deep economic malaise

Al Jazeera’s Dorsa Jabbari, reporting from Tehran, said there is lot of support behind Raisi. “The general public has one thing on their mind that they want some change from the moderate and reformist government they have seen over the past eight years,” she said.

“There is a sense that the economic situation in the country is not going to change any time soon. So they are hoping Raisi will bring some kind of change.”

Iranian opposition groups abroad and some dissidents at home have urged a boycott of the vote they see as an engineered victory for Raisi.

A win for Raisi would confirm the political demise of pragmatist politicians such as Rouhani, weakened by the US decision to quit the nuclear deal and reimpose sanctions in a move that stifled rapprochement with the West.

But it would not disrupt Iran’s bid to revive the agreement and break free of tough oil and financial sanctions, Iranian officials say, with the country’s ruling elite aware their political fortunes rely on tackling worsening economic hardship.

Tensions remain high with both the United States and Israel, which is believed to have carried out a series of attacks targeting Iranian nuclear sites and assassinating the scientist who created its military atomic program decades earlier.

What has kept Islamic Republic of Iran intact over four decades?

Since the end of WWII, the United States has conducted coups against many nations, including Iran in 1953. The US involvement in toppling Shah in 1953 has been confirmed by unclassified CIA documents. After the revolution in 1979, the US and its allies have been making efforts to topple the regime in Islamic Republic of Iran by establishing and supporting various rebel factions within the country, but all in vain.   

It may be worth probing the factors that have kept the regime intact. These include:

1. Since 1979, the US has become increasingly hostile, causing the general population of Iran to become united in support of the regime. The biggest evidence came recently at the funeral of General Soleimani inside and outside Iran.
2. Iranians are concerned that the US support might bring a regime change that could be worse than the present regime.
3. The current regime has successfully created a semi-welfare state by subsidizing basic necessities, and lately providing free medical insurance to all, a situation that does not exist even in the US.
4. The US threats including a steady increase of sanctions, as economic terrorism have had a direct impact on ordinary Iranians.
5. The US pressure on Iranians to topple the present regime is based on the recent US history of regime changes in many countries, specifically in the Middle East, Central and South America.
6. Trump’s maximum pressure on Iran via sanctions has had a significant impact on ordinary Iranians to remain united.
7. Iranians as well as rest of the world understand that western democracy is based on wealth and is not true democracy.    

Strategic Planning of the incumbent regime moved on many fronts to thwart the US, which are:

1-      Going to Syria and defeating US-created ISIS and elements backed by the west, which include, defeat of ISIS in Syria and containment of devastation in Iraq, Libya and Syria.

2-      Policies and the ability to produce defensive and offensive weapons have made the prospect of a US invasion costly.

3-      Development of strategic alliances with Russia and China, with their UN veto power has effectively made overt US aggression illegal.

4-      Iranian regime making a major strategic shift to the balance of world power in favor of Iran, Russia, and China, against other western imperialists.

5-      In June 2019 Iran surprised the world by shooting down a US drone in the Persian Gulf to which there was no US military response.

6-      In late December 2019 IRI conducted military exercises with Russia and China in the Gulf of Oman.

7-      On January 3, 2020 the US assassinated General Soleimani, an act condemned around the world. Following that action, Iran labeled the Pentagon a terrorist organization and US a terrorist state.

8-      The most important strategic achievement of Iran was its response to that killing, shooting 22 missiles into two US military bases in Iraq, again without a US response.

9-      Iran developed a policy of changing US assets into liabilities; also showed that the sole purpose of US weapons has been to increase corporate profit, not for defense.

10-   The US attempts to force Iraqi’s PM to resign, by suggesting he and his defense minister could be killed, failed when the PM refused and made it public, exposing the US as terrorist

Iranians have been gradually uniting as the government counters US provocations, sanctions, sustained hostility, aggression, and existential threats against them. Recently, they have been more critical of the US. There is general support to major strategic achievements including defeating ISIS in Syria and Iraq, and their strategic alliances with the emerging world powers of China and Russia.

Most importantly, the regime has prevented US from invading Iran, made history and changed the world balance of power against US aggression, hopefully moving toward a more peaceful and safer world.