Protest started for economical reason. What is causing those hardships? The regime? No, illegal sanctions from western countries. They always cause human misery to force regime change.
The violent riots are CIA and mossad orchestrated. How do we know? They openly admit it because their ego. Many armed protesters and arson, that's not peaceful.
Iranians deserve better, they are liberal and civilized. But they also see what western democracy brought to Libya, Iraq, Afghanistan, Syria (now ISIS). Do you think a free Iran will be free to sell its oil, secure its own safety and be sovereign? No, it must be weak, a vassal that Israel can freely bomb. I forgot to mention Iranians are also educated, they don't fall for your fake freedom.
Would Hezbollah, Hamas and Houthi's exist if it wasn't for Israel breaking international law for over 50 years? Stealing land, their homes, invading others, bombing, senseless killing, torture, the list of cruelty is long.
Saudi Arabia hit a new record for executions. But this is between good oil and bad oil right? Democracy is never a real problem does it? Most executions are drug related, a little excessive if you ask me. Maybe the US should do that too, that would clean up the streets and solve the drug pandemic.
With the US abandoning international law it lost all authority to lecture others. You might not like this message but the 7 billion people, not the golden billion living in the garden, are moving away from US led cruelty. You know the clock is ticking, that's why the US is desperate acting with violence.
If you truly cared about Iranians you would end the sanctions, win the hearts of the people and create incentives for a more democratic society. A strategy never tried. For once cut the double standards and hypocrisy, you just executed a woman for opposing ICE. Killing, the only thing the US excels in today.
Oh and you care so much about Iranians that you killed 1000 during the 12-day war. It's not only a warcrime to attack civilian scientists but you blow up a whole apartment complex with dozens of innocent civilians, women and children. Please lecture me about ethics and morality.
Can you specify the exact article and section of law that makes these sanctions "illegal"?
The US Constitution specifies that the Federal government is the only regulator of American trade. Seems perfectly legal to require that anyone trading with US entities should have nothing to do with Iran.
If a country uses its power to enforce sanctions on entities without a legitimate legal basis under international law and outside of globally agreed frameworks (like UN Security Council resolutions), it is widely argued to be illegal because it disrespects the sovereign rights of other states and meddles in their affairs. Calling extraterritorial sanctions ‘law’ is like calling a mugging a contract.
Utter crap: the US Constitution devolves all power to regulate interstate commerce on the US Congress.
There is no treaty ratified by the Congress that requires the US government not to "disrespect the sovereign rights of other states". In fact, other states are trying to meddle in US internal affairs by limiting how the US Congress regulates American businesses.
Starting with "utter crap" doesn’t make you sound tough, it makes you sound like someone who knows they’re about to embarrass themselves.
Yes, Congress can regulate Americans. No, it does not get to rule the planet. That’s not how sovereignty works, that’s not how jurisdiction works, and pretending otherwise just makes you sound imperial, not informed.
Other countries refusing to obey U.S. law is not "meddling". It’s called being independent. The fact you experience that as an attack says more about your worldview than about international law.
Your Constitution is not a global remote control. Thinking it is, that’s the real utter crap here.
Exactly, Congress regulates who American companies and citizens can do business with. End of story; any foreign entity that falls foul of the US simply takes its commerce elsewhere.
Congress doesn't rule the planet, just the wealthiest and most profitable economy on the face of the earth. Turns out it's about the same thing.
You clearly don't know how your government operate. If I open a bankaccount in Belgium for charity, collect money for medicine to send to Cuba they will close my bank account and fine that EU bank. Their is nothing American in this story yet the US is entitles to dictate the world. But you sanctions are failing, BRICS is the answer of decades of US interference.
I asked Grok for convenience. But you say USA a lot, your law has no jurisdiction over my little Belgium but you do it by using force.
You're right that under the U.S. Constitution—specifically Article I, Section 8, which grants Congress the power to regulate commerce with foreign nations—the federal government has broad authority to impose trade restrictions, including sanctions. This makes them perfectly legal domestically, as they've been enacted through acts like the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) of 1977 and the Comprehensive Iran Sanctions, Accountability, and Divestment Act of 2010 (CISADA). The requirement that entities trading with the U.S. avoid dealings with Iran stems from this framework.However, the argument that these sanctions are "illegal" typically refers to their status under international law, not U.S. domestic law. There's no single "article and section" in a unified global code that outright declares unilateral sanctions illegal per se—international law isn't structured like a national statute book. Instead, violations are assessed against treaties, customary principles, and UN resolutions. Here's a breakdown of why many experts, including UN officials and international legal scholars, consider U.S. sanctions on Iran (especially the extraterritorial or "secondary" ones that penalize non-U.S. entities for dealing with Iran) to be unlawful:
1. Violation of the Principle of Non-Intervention: Under Article 2(7) of the UN Charter, states are prohibited from intervening in matters essentially within the domestic jurisdiction of another state. U.S. secondary sanctions coerce third countries and their companies into aligning with U.S. policy by threatening penalties for trading with Iran, even if those trades are legal under their own laws. This amounts to unlawful interference in other states' sovereign affairs. For example, the UN Special Rapporteur on unilateral coercive measures has stated that such sanctions "ignore a country’s sovereignty" and constitute "a threat to world peace and security."
2. Breach of Sovereign Equality: Article 2(1) of the UN Charter enshrines the sovereign equality of all states. By leveraging its dominant position in global finance (e.g., the U.S. dollar's role in international transactions), the U.S. strong-arms allies and others into compliance, violating this equality. As one legal analysis puts it, "The use of the United States’ superior economic power to strong-arm other states into abandoning their own foreign policy is a violation of the sovereign equality principle." The UN expert has called this an "abuse of [a] dominant position in the international financial arena," contrary to international law.
3. Extraterritorial Application Contrary to Customary International Law: Customary international law limits a state's jurisdiction to its territory unless justified by principles like nationality or protective jurisdiction. U.S. sanctions extend beyond this, claiming authority over foreign entities with no direct U.S. nexus. The international community rejects such overreach, and scholars argue it's not justified under customary rules. The UN Rapporteur explicitly says, “The extraterritorial application of unilateral sanctions is clearly contrary to international law.” This is why the EU implemented a "blocking statute" in 2018 to nullify U.S. sanctions' effects in Europe.
4. Undermining the JCPOA and UN Security Council Resolutions: The 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) was endorsed by UN Security Council Resolution 2231 (2015), which lifted certain sanctions in exchange for Iran's nuclear compliance (verified by the IAEA). The U.S. withdrawal in 2018 and reimposition of sanctions are seen as breaching this multilateral framework, harming not just Iran but global non-proliferation efforts. Iran has even sued the U.S. at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) over this, citing violations of the 1955 Treaty of Amity between the two countries.
5. Human Rights Violations: While not always a direct "illegality" trigger, the broad impact on Iranian civilians (e.g., access to medicine and food) violates norms under the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and is criticized as collective punishment. The UN expert notes that sanctions "undermine the human rights of [Iranian] citizens" and that using them for regime change "has never been an accepted practice of international relations."
Yes, deadly sanctions for decades, applied coercicely on a whole population, the root cause, doesn't find a mention in the cancel culture of today's mainstream media. Nor the difference between genuinely troubled Iranian citizens who are complaining to their government to take steps to address their difficulties versus the minority thugs on the street who loot and arson, who are bought out by you know who! We rreally hope Bryen will steer clear of all that, it's become so trite a playbook that school children can read through it.
Oh FFS - the People and the Mullahs are the same side.
A few guns fired by CIA/MI6/Mossad hoods does not make a revolution - although it does mean a lot of people get killed.
riots are over, Big pro government demos are happening and iran carries on.
Sanctions of course remain.
This was not the Arab Spring or UKraine (where Georgians firing at police and civilians lead to an actual regime change). This was HK or Belarus where a weak uprising lead to a little bloodshed that has virtually no impact on HK or Belarus but where enormously exaggerated news stories did impact Taiwan's election a few monhts later (on "China authoritarianism") and Ukraine/Europes preparation for 2022's war (Russian Authoritarianism).
So why did the intelligence agencies burn a nascent regime operation maybe a decade before it was ready this time? My guess is it was to persuade Trump and Maga that Iran was there for the taking.
Of course that is an open question - some say A: US destroyed Iran's ability to defend itself. Others say B: Iran damaged israel so clearly it had to beg Trump to find a peace deal.
Prediction: If A then Israel attacks Iran within 6 months itself.
If B: Israel pretends to stay out of it and gets Trump to attack Iran in the hope Iran doesn't counter attack Israel.
Iran would counter attack - Israel could be toast.
Witkoff and Ukraine/Russia. So Russia trusted US to negotiate terms it could accept?
I don't think so. Russia has been much like US on this - they have politely nodded as terms a million miles from reality were being discussed, but also repeated their minimum terms. It is no secret that there never was going to be a deal - any anger from either side is fake.
This is just Zio slop. People from Poland should not have arrived in Palestine with the explicit intention of pushing out the Palestinian population, and Iran has supported the Palestinian people. I don't think grabbing civilian hostages on October 7th a great tactic, but you have to see it in the context of the refusal of Palestinian national rights, Operation Cast Lead, the shooting in the ankles of thousands of Palestinian children, the settlements in the West Bank, the attempt to push the Arabs out of the Temple Mount. Israel is a terrorist state, and the US does back terrorism in the Middle East (Israel itself, and installing al-Qaeda as the government of Syria). Iran is not a terrorist state.
You convinced me: Israel has to take a much tougher approach to stop the "Palestinians" from harming Jews that have lived continuously in the region for 3,000 years.
Actually, the current ceasefire on Gaza is not good. Israel should have taken at least 1km of beachfront the whole way from the Egyptian border and broken up Arab settlements into 4-5 not contiguous blocks with 2km buffers inbetween. Keeping the Eastern demarcation line of 1949.
IE 4-5 Emirates in the Strip, and 20 Emirates in Judea and Samaria. Maybe make Nazareth and Taibe Emirates too.
“no matter what the deal, Iran will cheat its way around it“ Good grief Stephen, just as I finally endorsed your last effort you come up with this… what planet do you live upon, if anyone will destroy, simply shred, rip up an agreement at whim and or cheat, it’s the good ole U.S of A, now Internationally acknowledged as unreliable, untrustworthy, its undertakings, signed deals, contracts, agreements not worth the paper it’s written upon, handshakes don’t cut it either, in other words the U.S is a pariah state, an acknowledged terrorist shit stirrer state, always spouting the democracy, freedoms, rule of law mantra, well, how about you spend time writing up just how that trope used as camouflage to deceive is going of late, including domestically at home..
The nation that many once looked up to is a cot case, worse than the innumerable brutal dictatorships you happily installed across the world, from Chile under Pinochet, to Indonesia’s Suharto, throughout South and Central America, Across Africa, the Middle East, nowhere upon this earth it seems has been left untouched.
However how about we actually allow other nations to actually get neck deep into U.S domestic affairs, just as your nation has a relentless want to do across the world, the nation has for decades and ever since the halcyon days of its greatest growth periods, the 1950’s and 1960’s when it seemed U.S citizens, corporates, even the government all made solid progress, real liveable wages, housing affordability, medical costs under control tax take well up, near balanced budgets, much to be proud of compared the decades since save the Cuban missile crisis bought about because the U.S thought it clever to station nukes in Turkey threatening Russia, Russia retaliates and it turned into the Cuban missile shit show, all caused U.S hubris, hardly mentioned though in your Newscasts, nope, blame the other side.
This was followed the JFK, MLK, RFK assassinations, and the 1960’s was a decade of exceptional pride for the U.S, well that really tells us everything, all others preceding it were a nightmare, the early 1900’s the nation dealing with unbridled arrogance of corporates and heavy hitter industrialists like J.D Rockefeller, Carnegie, J.P.Morgan, together all of their antics as they used their money to corrupt the nations values, Medicine and Healthcare forever changed by Rockefeller, research it, again Rockefeller perpetrating with Margaret Sanger the abortion policy that has since seen 70million mainly black, the poorest and disenfranchised aborted from the clinics established in predominantly black and poor working class neighbourhoods… a policy shift on steroids of late the resulting death count parabolic, the creation of the Fed and the supposed temporary IRS, two institutions one privately owned, the Fed.
The other the IRS a government collection agency both responsible for destroying the lives of countless individuals onward to the formation of the transgender, frustrated homosexual managed FBI, managed J Edgar Hoover a deviant with a penchant for the salacious who fine tuned the craft of collecting data that enabled blackmail, threats, intimidation something it seems your successive administrations since have truly latched onto as they have continued to allow what ought be a fine example of law enforcement able to dispense justice equitably descend into one of the most corrupt organs of government anywhere on planet earth… Stalin and Himmler I’m sure would learn a lot from the antics the FBI, just as they undoubtedly would the equally despicable and unlawful acts of the CIA and it’s paramilitary forces SAC/SOG.
Then to 1929 and all it wrought, penury, through the 1930’s individual wealth seized, gold especially stolen essentially while Wall Street funded Hitlers rise to power seems fascists can recognise other fascists readily and nothing like helping a bro in need right, onto the 1940’s bringing the CIA pre cursor the OSS to look past the intelligence literally as planned allowing for Pearl Harbour.
What better way to incite a nation to War against a foe that the nation had essentially as with China in the 1920’s blockaded, sanctioned, literally, destroying their economy compelling them to act.. the blow back never ever welcomed, angering those who got themselves off planning such nasties.
As it turned out for us all that’s where we have ended up it’s what we face today, a rogue nation, a lying, duplicit nation, a nation complicit in genocide, a nation that has no regard for international law, treaties, conventions, norms, institutions, contracts, led by a smack talking dummkopf who really would excel starring in dumb and dumber, literally, BIC Bloviator in Chief Trump has set new standards for the absurd and we thought uncle Joe was bad enough, people suggest he’s playing 5/6 Dimensional chess? Really, some opine he’d have a challenge playing snap.
Remind me how the tariffs are working out, foreign relations and foreign policy all one failure after the other, the military has its own issues, recruitment, transgenderism pervading the forces, preference to dress up and plat soldiering vs actually soldiering, U.S Special forces only prepared to have a crack provided all and I mean ALL contingencies are assured 100%? Go figure, really keen to mix it, that’s not prowess that’s dress up playing tough… U.S grunts from yesteryear Vietnam, WW2-would be ashamed… even the Houthi having the U.S turn tale, ditto Afghans, Vietcong, Koreans, lord, even Iran in the 12 day bash, had Trump and Mileikowski crying uncle, begging for a ceasefire before another bout of make believe at Fordow.
The list goes on, it’s not a beat up, but a reality check, we are just sick and tired of the crap, the hubris, the same old tropes, root, toot shoot em up, yeehah, let’s roll, however in truth it’s time to face realities, to let your people know what’s really going on, your playing with lives, the lives of those you laud, thanking for their service, sending them ill prepared against better prepared adversaries, yet they are sent in to do what….
To ride shotgun to accentuate and promote the vested and monied interests of the corporates, the banks, of Wall Street, of the military industrial complex, whilst the citizens interests supposedly fought for are way, way down the list of priorities… if most citizens knew the truth they’d rebel, demanding much more, a life of equanimity commensurate living incomes to start with, an end to the incessant orchestrated economic bubbles that benefit the few at the expense of the many with alarming regularity, wealth transferred every time, always up, never down… maybe that’s what scares the elites, the Politicians, but for the rest of us impacted by this bellicose hubris we have had a guts full… just saying
Kia Kaha (Stay Strong) From New Zealand
To help your getting it right, I refer you to articles below well researched, fact based, by Larry Johnson a former and top senior CIA Analyst the second by Alex Krainer a experienced fund manager who has worked in the top echelons of global finance… but who has like most tired of the untruths, lies, falsehoods perpetrated… read, learn, educate, broaden your knowledge, though given your background you likely already know a lot of their content which makes your distortion of facts even more troubling, whilst underscoring the actual problem, become a part of the solution, the worlds changing, as they say, roll with it or be left behind…. the future is truth, balanced, nuanced, contextualised arguments, narratives, reporting, the way we deal and interact across every human metric… become part of the solution, don’t remain contributing the problem… best always
Iran Does Not Hate Americans… But it Has Legitimate Reasons to Do So
Appeasement: the SHOCKING truth about the 1938 Munich Agreement (part 1 of 3)
To avoid sleepwalking into another great war, it is essential that we understand what really happened in 1938 – and it’s nothing like they taught us in school.
Sad but probably true. People like witcoff are blind to the often stated goals of Islam which are kill all Jews and everyone else who refuses to bow down to Islam. Negotiating for Islam is merely another way of lying in order to attain its goal. They have no intention to sticking to any agreement. Why is this only obvious to old retired conservatives like me?
One thing a dealmaker like Donald J Trump can do is spot weakness from a mile away and swoop in to take advantage of it. Not a great time to be an Ayatollah😆
The 1979 revolution was the result of a CIA-MI6 coup against an elected government, which installed Pahlavi as a brutal repressive US client.
The IRGC was the result of America, Britain and others backing Saddam's war of aggression against the revolution that removed the repressive US client.
The current riots are largely the result of an economic collapse caused by US-Israeli military aggression and US-led sanctions dating back all the way to the toppling of a corrupt brutal client.
I'm no fan of the mullahs and revolutionary guards, but both are results of American-led aggression, which since 1979 has consistently weakened a long line of moderate leaders in the parliament and civil society, while strengthening the dysfunctional hardline leadershiip.
How often has such Western economic and military aggression on balance produced positive results anywhere since WW2?
...except for US Big Oil and Big Defense and linked politicians?
You are a bit behind the latest news. Trump today said negotiations were off and encouraged the protests to continue. He also asked that the names of the murders be collected for future retribution.
The fundamentalism of the Left...Reading the comments you can only conclude that once again the western left cannot suppress its, by now seemingly inbred, need to ally with the enemies of its enemies. Apparently, to have a morally solid enough position on the evils of the CIA, Mossad and general western (US) meddling, one has no other option than to be in denial of Tehran's own evilness...
splendid piece. Pure American revisionism. Well done - "the Iranians will cheat ..." not as much as the US has cheated, repeatedly, over the last thirty years. You don't talk about that, why would you? It would only make the snakes you bow to unhappy if you stayed from their narrative....
The mullahs cannot and must NOT be trusted. From some press reports, as of today 5,000 to 12,000 innocent people, mostly young, have been killed by the Nazis of the Islamic Republic, underpinned by its abhorrent anti-Semitic, anti-Iran (they don’t believe in nations; only the Islamic Ummah or community), anti women (obvious) and anti-America (again, obvious).
These Islamic revolutionary-cum snake merchants-cum terrorists-cum thieves and rapists must be utterly defeated, tried and prosecuted.
No trace of Islamic political activity must remain in Iran—a service and a gift to the world.
Protest started for economical reason. What is causing those hardships? The regime? No, illegal sanctions from western countries. They always cause human misery to force regime change.
https://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2026/01/the-really-dark-side-of-western-sanctions.html
The violent riots are CIA and mossad orchestrated. How do we know? They openly admit it because their ego. Many armed protesters and arson, that's not peaceful.
Iranians deserve better, they are liberal and civilized. But they also see what western democracy brought to Libya, Iraq, Afghanistan, Syria (now ISIS). Do you think a free Iran will be free to sell its oil, secure its own safety and be sovereign? No, it must be weak, a vassal that Israel can freely bomb. I forgot to mention Iranians are also educated, they don't fall for your fake freedom.
Would Hezbollah, Hamas and Houthi's exist if it wasn't for Israel breaking international law for over 50 years? Stealing land, their homes, invading others, bombing, senseless killing, torture, the list of cruelty is long.
Saudi Arabia hit a new record for executions. But this is between good oil and bad oil right? Democracy is never a real problem does it? Most executions are drug related, a little excessive if you ask me. Maybe the US should do that too, that would clean up the streets and solve the drug pandemic.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/jan/01/executions-saudi-arabia-highest-number-ever-2025
With the US abandoning international law it lost all authority to lecture others. You might not like this message but the 7 billion people, not the golden billion living in the garden, are moving away from US led cruelty. You know the clock is ticking, that's why the US is desperate acting with violence.
If you truly cared about Iranians you would end the sanctions, win the hearts of the people and create incentives for a more democratic society. A strategy never tried. For once cut the double standards and hypocrisy, you just executed a woman for opposing ICE. Killing, the only thing the US excels in today.
Oh and you care so much about Iranians that you killed 1000 during the 12-day war. It's not only a warcrime to attack civilian scientists but you blow up a whole apartment complex with dozens of innocent civilians, women and children. Please lecture me about ethics and morality.
"illegal sanctions from western countries"
Can you specify the exact article and section of law that makes these sanctions "illegal"?
The US Constitution specifies that the Federal government is the only regulator of American trade. Seems perfectly legal to require that anyone trading with US entities should have nothing to do with Iran.
If a country uses its power to enforce sanctions on entities without a legitimate legal basis under international law and outside of globally agreed frameworks (like UN Security Council resolutions), it is widely argued to be illegal because it disrespects the sovereign rights of other states and meddles in their affairs. Calling extraterritorial sanctions ‘law’ is like calling a mugging a contract.
Utter crap: the US Constitution devolves all power to regulate interstate commerce on the US Congress.
There is no treaty ratified by the Congress that requires the US government not to "disrespect the sovereign rights of other states". In fact, other states are trying to meddle in US internal affairs by limiting how the US Congress regulates American businesses.
Starting with "utter crap" doesn’t make you sound tough, it makes you sound like someone who knows they’re about to embarrass themselves.
Yes, Congress can regulate Americans. No, it does not get to rule the planet. That’s not how sovereignty works, that’s not how jurisdiction works, and pretending otherwise just makes you sound imperial, not informed.
Other countries refusing to obey U.S. law is not "meddling". It’s called being independent. The fact you experience that as an attack says more about your worldview than about international law.
Your Constitution is not a global remote control. Thinking it is, that’s the real utter crap here.
“Yes, Congress can regulate Americans”
Exactly, Congress regulates who American companies and citizens can do business with. End of story; any foreign entity that falls foul of the US simply takes its commerce elsewhere.
Congress doesn't rule the planet, just the wealthiest and most profitable economy on the face of the earth. Turns out it's about the same thing.
You clearly don't know how your government operate. If I open a bankaccount in Belgium for charity, collect money for medicine to send to Cuba they will close my bank account and fine that EU bank. Their is nothing American in this story yet the US is entitles to dictate the world. But you sanctions are failing, BRICS is the answer of decades of US interference.
I asked Grok for convenience. But you say USA a lot, your law has no jurisdiction over my little Belgium but you do it by using force.
You're right that under the U.S. Constitution—specifically Article I, Section 8, which grants Congress the power to regulate commerce with foreign nations—the federal government has broad authority to impose trade restrictions, including sanctions. This makes them perfectly legal domestically, as they've been enacted through acts like the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) of 1977 and the Comprehensive Iran Sanctions, Accountability, and Divestment Act of 2010 (CISADA). The requirement that entities trading with the U.S. avoid dealings with Iran stems from this framework.However, the argument that these sanctions are "illegal" typically refers to their status under international law, not U.S. domestic law. There's no single "article and section" in a unified global code that outright declares unilateral sanctions illegal per se—international law isn't structured like a national statute book. Instead, violations are assessed against treaties, customary principles, and UN resolutions. Here's a breakdown of why many experts, including UN officials and international legal scholars, consider U.S. sanctions on Iran (especially the extraterritorial or "secondary" ones that penalize non-U.S. entities for dealing with Iran) to be unlawful:
1. Violation of the Principle of Non-Intervention: Under Article 2(7) of the UN Charter, states are prohibited from intervening in matters essentially within the domestic jurisdiction of another state. U.S. secondary sanctions coerce third countries and their companies into aligning with U.S. policy by threatening penalties for trading with Iran, even if those trades are legal under their own laws. This amounts to unlawful interference in other states' sovereign affairs. For example, the UN Special Rapporteur on unilateral coercive measures has stated that such sanctions "ignore a country’s sovereignty" and constitute "a threat to world peace and security."
2. Breach of Sovereign Equality: Article 2(1) of the UN Charter enshrines the sovereign equality of all states. By leveraging its dominant position in global finance (e.g., the U.S. dollar's role in international transactions), the U.S. strong-arms allies and others into compliance, violating this equality. As one legal analysis puts it, "The use of the United States’ superior economic power to strong-arm other states into abandoning their own foreign policy is a violation of the sovereign equality principle." The UN expert has called this an "abuse of [a] dominant position in the international financial arena," contrary to international law.
3. Extraterritorial Application Contrary to Customary International Law: Customary international law limits a state's jurisdiction to its territory unless justified by principles like nationality or protective jurisdiction. U.S. sanctions extend beyond this, claiming authority over foreign entities with no direct U.S. nexus. The international community rejects such overreach, and scholars argue it's not justified under customary rules. The UN Rapporteur explicitly says, “The extraterritorial application of unilateral sanctions is clearly contrary to international law.” This is why the EU implemented a "blocking statute" in 2018 to nullify U.S. sanctions' effects in Europe.
4. Undermining the JCPOA and UN Security Council Resolutions: The 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) was endorsed by UN Security Council Resolution 2231 (2015), which lifted certain sanctions in exchange for Iran's nuclear compliance (verified by the IAEA). The U.S. withdrawal in 2018 and reimposition of sanctions are seen as breaching this multilateral framework, harming not just Iran but global non-proliferation efforts. Iran has even sued the U.S. at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) over this, citing violations of the 1955 Treaty of Amity between the two countries.
5. Human Rights Violations: While not always a direct "illegality" trigger, the broad impact on Iranian civilians (e.g., access to medicine and food) violates norms under the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and is criticized as collective punishment. The UN expert notes that sanctions "undermine the human rights of [Iranian] citizens" and that using them for regime change "has never been an accepted practice of international relations."
Yes, deadly sanctions for decades, applied coercicely on a whole population, the root cause, doesn't find a mention in the cancel culture of today's mainstream media. Nor the difference between genuinely troubled Iranian citizens who are complaining to their government to take steps to address their difficulties versus the minority thugs on the street who loot and arson, who are bought out by you know who! We rreally hope Bryen will steer clear of all that, it's become so trite a playbook that school children can read through it.
Yes and Iran is now presenting a ton of evidence to back this up.
Oh FFS - the People and the Mullahs are the same side.
A few guns fired by CIA/MI6/Mossad hoods does not make a revolution - although it does mean a lot of people get killed.
riots are over, Big pro government demos are happening and iran carries on.
Sanctions of course remain.
This was not the Arab Spring or UKraine (where Georgians firing at police and civilians lead to an actual regime change). This was HK or Belarus where a weak uprising lead to a little bloodshed that has virtually no impact on HK or Belarus but where enormously exaggerated news stories did impact Taiwan's election a few monhts later (on "China authoritarianism") and Ukraine/Europes preparation for 2022's war (Russian Authoritarianism).
So why did the intelligence agencies burn a nascent regime operation maybe a decade before it was ready this time? My guess is it was to persuade Trump and Maga that Iran was there for the taking.
Of course that is an open question - some say A: US destroyed Iran's ability to defend itself. Others say B: Iran damaged israel so clearly it had to beg Trump to find a peace deal.
Prediction: If A then Israel attacks Iran within 6 months itself.
If B: Israel pretends to stay out of it and gets Trump to attack Iran in the hope Iran doesn't counter attack Israel.
Iran would counter attack - Israel could be toast.
Witkoff and Ukraine/Russia. So Russia trusted US to negotiate terms it could accept?
I don't think so. Russia has been much like US on this - they have politely nodded as terms a million miles from reality were being discussed, but also repeated their minimum terms. It is no secret that there never was going to be a deal - any anger from either side is fake.
This is just Zio slop. People from Poland should not have arrived in Palestine with the explicit intention of pushing out the Palestinian population, and Iran has supported the Palestinian people. I don't think grabbing civilian hostages on October 7th a great tactic, but you have to see it in the context of the refusal of Palestinian national rights, Operation Cast Lead, the shooting in the ankles of thousands of Palestinian children, the settlements in the West Bank, the attempt to push the Arabs out of the Temple Mount. Israel is a terrorist state, and the US does back terrorism in the Middle East (Israel itself, and installing al-Qaeda as the government of Syria). Iran is not a terrorist state.
You convinced me: Israel has to take a much tougher approach to stop the "Palestinians" from harming Jews that have lived continuously in the region for 3,000 years.
Peace Now! Flatten Gaza!
Actually, the current ceasefire on Gaza is not good. Israel should have taken at least 1km of beachfront the whole way from the Egyptian border and broken up Arab settlements into 4-5 not contiguous blocks with 2km buffers inbetween. Keeping the Eastern demarcation line of 1949.
IE 4-5 Emirates in the Strip, and 20 Emirates in Judea and Samaria. Maybe make Nazareth and Taibe Emirates too.
Go back to goitardia 🐖 🪱 💨 💨 💨
"Many believe that the root of the turmoil in the Middle East traces directly to Iran"
And many believe it traces directly to another state beginning with 'I'.
Can always tell when you are emotionally driven by a subject, because you get irrational, like this piece.
“no matter what the deal, Iran will cheat its way around it“ Good grief Stephen, just as I finally endorsed your last effort you come up with this… what planet do you live upon, if anyone will destroy, simply shred, rip up an agreement at whim and or cheat, it’s the good ole U.S of A, now Internationally acknowledged as unreliable, untrustworthy, its undertakings, signed deals, contracts, agreements not worth the paper it’s written upon, handshakes don’t cut it either, in other words the U.S is a pariah state, an acknowledged terrorist shit stirrer state, always spouting the democracy, freedoms, rule of law mantra, well, how about you spend time writing up just how that trope used as camouflage to deceive is going of late, including domestically at home..
The nation that many once looked up to is a cot case, worse than the innumerable brutal dictatorships you happily installed across the world, from Chile under Pinochet, to Indonesia’s Suharto, throughout South and Central America, Across Africa, the Middle East, nowhere upon this earth it seems has been left untouched.
However how about we actually allow other nations to actually get neck deep into U.S domestic affairs, just as your nation has a relentless want to do across the world, the nation has for decades and ever since the halcyon days of its greatest growth periods, the 1950’s and 1960’s when it seemed U.S citizens, corporates, even the government all made solid progress, real liveable wages, housing affordability, medical costs under control tax take well up, near balanced budgets, much to be proud of compared the decades since save the Cuban missile crisis bought about because the U.S thought it clever to station nukes in Turkey threatening Russia, Russia retaliates and it turned into the Cuban missile shit show, all caused U.S hubris, hardly mentioned though in your Newscasts, nope, blame the other side.
This was followed the JFK, MLK, RFK assassinations, and the 1960’s was a decade of exceptional pride for the U.S, well that really tells us everything, all others preceding it were a nightmare, the early 1900’s the nation dealing with unbridled arrogance of corporates and heavy hitter industrialists like J.D Rockefeller, Carnegie, J.P.Morgan, together all of their antics as they used their money to corrupt the nations values, Medicine and Healthcare forever changed by Rockefeller, research it, again Rockefeller perpetrating with Margaret Sanger the abortion policy that has since seen 70million mainly black, the poorest and disenfranchised aborted from the clinics established in predominantly black and poor working class neighbourhoods… a policy shift on steroids of late the resulting death count parabolic, the creation of the Fed and the supposed temporary IRS, two institutions one privately owned, the Fed.
The other the IRS a government collection agency both responsible for destroying the lives of countless individuals onward to the formation of the transgender, frustrated homosexual managed FBI, managed J Edgar Hoover a deviant with a penchant for the salacious who fine tuned the craft of collecting data that enabled blackmail, threats, intimidation something it seems your successive administrations since have truly latched onto as they have continued to allow what ought be a fine example of law enforcement able to dispense justice equitably descend into one of the most corrupt organs of government anywhere on planet earth… Stalin and Himmler I’m sure would learn a lot from the antics the FBI, just as they undoubtedly would the equally despicable and unlawful acts of the CIA and it’s paramilitary forces SAC/SOG.
Then to 1929 and all it wrought, penury, through the 1930’s individual wealth seized, gold especially stolen essentially while Wall Street funded Hitlers rise to power seems fascists can recognise other fascists readily and nothing like helping a bro in need right, onto the 1940’s bringing the CIA pre cursor the OSS to look past the intelligence literally as planned allowing for Pearl Harbour.
What better way to incite a nation to War against a foe that the nation had essentially as with China in the 1920’s blockaded, sanctioned, literally, destroying their economy compelling them to act.. the blow back never ever welcomed, angering those who got themselves off planning such nasties.
As it turned out for us all that’s where we have ended up it’s what we face today, a rogue nation, a lying, duplicit nation, a nation complicit in genocide, a nation that has no regard for international law, treaties, conventions, norms, institutions, contracts, led by a smack talking dummkopf who really would excel starring in dumb and dumber, literally, BIC Bloviator in Chief Trump has set new standards for the absurd and we thought uncle Joe was bad enough, people suggest he’s playing 5/6 Dimensional chess? Really, some opine he’d have a challenge playing snap.
Remind me how the tariffs are working out, foreign relations and foreign policy all one failure after the other, the military has its own issues, recruitment, transgenderism pervading the forces, preference to dress up and plat soldiering vs actually soldiering, U.S Special forces only prepared to have a crack provided all and I mean ALL contingencies are assured 100%? Go figure, really keen to mix it, that’s not prowess that’s dress up playing tough… U.S grunts from yesteryear Vietnam, WW2-would be ashamed… even the Houthi having the U.S turn tale, ditto Afghans, Vietcong, Koreans, lord, even Iran in the 12 day bash, had Trump and Mileikowski crying uncle, begging for a ceasefire before another bout of make believe at Fordow.
The list goes on, it’s not a beat up, but a reality check, we are just sick and tired of the crap, the hubris, the same old tropes, root, toot shoot em up, yeehah, let’s roll, however in truth it’s time to face realities, to let your people know what’s really going on, your playing with lives, the lives of those you laud, thanking for their service, sending them ill prepared against better prepared adversaries, yet they are sent in to do what….
To ride shotgun to accentuate and promote the vested and monied interests of the corporates, the banks, of Wall Street, of the military industrial complex, whilst the citizens interests supposedly fought for are way, way down the list of priorities… if most citizens knew the truth they’d rebel, demanding much more, a life of equanimity commensurate living incomes to start with, an end to the incessant orchestrated economic bubbles that benefit the few at the expense of the many with alarming regularity, wealth transferred every time, always up, never down… maybe that’s what scares the elites, the Politicians, but for the rest of us impacted by this bellicose hubris we have had a guts full… just saying
Kia Kaha (Stay Strong) From New Zealand
To help your getting it right, I refer you to articles below well researched, fact based, by Larry Johnson a former and top senior CIA Analyst the second by Alex Krainer a experienced fund manager who has worked in the top echelons of global finance… but who has like most tired of the untruths, lies, falsehoods perpetrated… read, learn, educate, broaden your knowledge, though given your background you likely already know a lot of their content which makes your distortion of facts even more troubling, whilst underscoring the actual problem, become a part of the solution, the worlds changing, as they say, roll with it or be left behind…. the future is truth, balanced, nuanced, contextualised arguments, narratives, reporting, the way we deal and interact across every human metric… become part of the solution, don’t remain contributing the problem… best always
Iran Does Not Hate Americans… But it Has Legitimate Reasons to Do So
LARRY C JOHNSON
JAN 14, 2026
https://larrycjohnson.substack.com/p/iran-does-not-hate-americans-but?utm_source=post-email-title&publication_id=1225061&post_id=184514506&utm_campaign=email-post-title&isFreemail=false&r=1iecun&triedRedirect=true&utm_medium=email
Appeasement: the SHOCKING truth about the 1938 Munich Agreement (part 1 of 3)
To avoid sleepwalking into another great war, it is essential that we understand what really happened in 1938 – and it’s nothing like they taught us in school.
ALEX KRAINER
JAN 14, 2026
https://alexkrainer.substack.com/p/appeasement-the-shocking-truth-about?utm_source=post-email-title&publication_id=1063805&post_id=184490328&utm_campaign=email-post-title&isFreemail=false&r=1iecun&triedRedirect=true&utm_medium=email
truly comprehensive overview, my man - I can write with this authority, but I sure do respect yours. Aroha, also from Nelson, NZ
Sad but probably true. People like witcoff are blind to the often stated goals of Islam which are kill all Jews and everyone else who refuses to bow down to Islam. Negotiating for Islam is merely another way of lying in order to attain its goal. They have no intention to sticking to any agreement. Why is this only obvious to old retired conservatives like me?
This one didn't age well as President Trump has just ordered all meetings with Iranian officials to be cancelled
https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/115888317758045915
One thing a dealmaker like Donald J Trump can do is spot weakness from a mile away and swoop in to take advantage of it. Not a great time to be an Ayatollah😆
The 1979 revolution was the result of a CIA-MI6 coup against an elected government, which installed Pahlavi as a brutal repressive US client.
The IRGC was the result of America, Britain and others backing Saddam's war of aggression against the revolution that removed the repressive US client.
The current riots are largely the result of an economic collapse caused by US-Israeli military aggression and US-led sanctions dating back all the way to the toppling of a corrupt brutal client.
I'm no fan of the mullahs and revolutionary guards, but both are results of American-led aggression, which since 1979 has consistently weakened a long line of moderate leaders in the parliament and civil society, while strengthening the dysfunctional hardline leadershiip.
How often has such Western economic and military aggression on balance produced positive results anywhere since WW2?
...except for US Big Oil and Big Defense and linked politicians?
You are a bit behind the latest news. Trump today said negotiations were off and encouraged the protests to continue. He also asked that the names of the murders be collected for future retribution.
"Iran wants a free hand to kill everyone opposing the regime."
Seems to me, the US doe pretty much the same thing. How many guards of Maduro were killed?
How many Russians have been killed (both civilians and military)?
How about the daily "who do we kill toady" meetings by Obama and the military during the Afghanistan day's?
No regime can ignore its opposition if it wants to stay in power. That is the basic principle of power.
The fundamentalism of the Left...Reading the comments you can only conclude that once again the western left cannot suppress its, by now seemingly inbred, need to ally with the enemies of its enemies. Apparently, to have a morally solid enough position on the evils of the CIA, Mossad and general western (US) meddling, one has no other option than to be in denial of Tehran's own evilness...
splendid piece. Pure American revisionism. Well done - "the Iranians will cheat ..." not as much as the US has cheated, repeatedly, over the last thirty years. You don't talk about that, why would you? It would only make the snakes you bow to unhappy if you stayed from their narrative....
Ugh. I hope defeat is not snatched from the coming jaws of victory
Well said, Stephen.
The mullahs cannot and must NOT be trusted. From some press reports, as of today 5,000 to 12,000 innocent people, mostly young, have been killed by the Nazis of the Islamic Republic, underpinned by its abhorrent anti-Semitic, anti-Iran (they don’t believe in nations; only the Islamic Ummah or community), anti women (obvious) and anti-America (again, obvious).
These Islamic revolutionary-cum snake merchants-cum terrorists-cum thieves and rapists must be utterly defeated, tried and prosecuted.
No trace of Islamic political activity must remain in Iran—a service and a gift to the world.
"Iran wants a free hand to kill everyone opposing the regime. Thousands have already died," for a moment I thought he meant the US here lol