Current Events

What a charming couple!

I though experts were supposed to have all the answers!

These 2 just added more and more questions!

Rainbows, drinking gasoline, WTF!!!

The bottomline is this:

1) As predicted, the sanctions are not affecting the top, but the bottom and middle. (a good thing since that makes the top nervous)

2) Iran is full of shit. (as usual)

3) It is up the US when to say "enough is enough".

Based on these facts and recent events, apparently the best solution now is for the US to close the Straits, and only allow Arab or non-Iranian oil to flow through it.

China's reaction to this, is negligible, especially if the US makes other arrangements for China to get it's oil from another source at a lower cost than Iranian oil.

Can you say Saudi Arabia?

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Sanctions hit middle class worst

I guess since poor families will get their subcidies and their problem is like before, for the middle class the problems has been raised, especially for those working in private businesses, either they are fired or thet have to close their business if they have been doing business with western countries.

The ruling elite will spend the money they get by cutting subcidies of middle class to strengthen their position.

That is why if sanctions to work they have to be implemented very smart and also without countries like Turkey and China bypassing it. 

Haleh Esfandiari is right! The internal pressure will break

Khemenei's back or rather bust his b@^%@$! But, a military strike on the regime's centers of power is necessary.

Karim is a nice guy and makes good points mixed with funny proverbs here and there.

He needs to wear more conservative attire. This is Washington DC not LA!

What the west wants (maybe)

J. C. Vaughan

As near as I can tell, the West (European, American and Israeli elites, backed by American "religious right" conservatives) seem to be driven mostly by a few ideas.  First, there seems to be a fear that IRI is going to create nuclear bombs and nuke Israel.  Second, there seems to be an idea that some kind of "righteous" war is necessary  for God's approval and blessing.  Third, there seems to be an idea that war is necessary (or at least good) for economic growth.  Note that the elites, at least in America, do not care about their own people, so they certainly do not care about Iran's people.  The Mullahs and IRG could go back to Turkish skinning alive and impalement via the rectum as their "legal murder" method, especially for queers, and the elites would not give a damn.  Elites simple do not ever care about any "rights" except their own (this seems to me to have been the big problem of the Shah).

Hirre

Replace everywhere you used the word "Iran" with "Islamic Republic" and you will get your answer!!

I really doubt Iran is

I really doubt Iran is developing a nuclear weapon... And I don't understand what the west wants in the negotiations, are their aims to stop Iran from becoming a nuclear civilization? Iran has control of the whole process. Does west want Iran to buy western uranium when Iran has so much of it in the country? If negotiations will lead to higher costs for Iran, I don't see why they would do it? I mean the west didn't want the shah either to go nuclear...

The total cost for Iran might be less, e.g. if sanctions are lifted, but they have to buy the nuclear fuel elsewere. But that is just stupid, you should be able to grow your own tomatoes...

Anyways, the nuclear issue is so biased, they should focus on the human rights issues and concentrate the fight against fundamentalism...

Good conversation....

Thanks to Karim and Haleh for providing unbiased, unpartisan opinion. 

 And thanks to PBS for providing a platform for this type of discussion and information.

'Hambastegi' is the main key to victory 

Mehrdad

.............

Karim Sajjadpour is great! Very expressive, eloquent, erudite, and humorous!

I hope the nuclear negotiation will have some breakthrough, so all the misery can be avoided! It is not too late!

Great discussion and thank you for this great video!

Chogok

Do you know how much crude oil Norway produces from it's share of the North Sea?   They now export about 3million barells/day of refined oil!!!! 

Norway buying oil?

Norway is an oil producing country, Statoil was going to invest in the Iranian fields and not buying oil, and Royal dutch Shell is now in a merger with Exxon which is American and so it is most certainly will not buy Iranian oil, it would mean Exxon would pay heavy fines and its managers would go to jail. Even if it was not in merger it did not want to lose th big Amerian market for worlds now 4th oil producer.

If you want to come with a conspiracy theory, it is better to investigate.

The only countries buying Iranian oil in Europe are Italy, Spain and Greece, and they have accepted to do business elsewhere.

It will be the chinese and Turks that will get a good gas price at the end. Turkey is today getting cheap Natural gas from Iran and dont want to quit.

I was wrong about shell and exxon, exxon and mobil has merged. Shell is still standalone. 

Faramarz jaan Michelle Bachmann is Ahmadinejad of the world!

It's the opposite, Michelle Bachman stole many plays out of Ahmadinejad's playbook!

Sarah Palin's 15 minutes of fame has faded.  So much so that her arch nemesis is Karl Rove! 

Everything is sacred

IR Should be More Like Michele Bachmann!

The Regime should do a Michele Bachmann and just bail out.

Karim is so full of analogies and anecdotes! Great Job.

Dear Hamvatans

Don't be fooled by this mascarade...  Just like the last 30 years - all this sanction means is that Norway and Hollandwould buy our oil even cheaper than they do today!! with the excuse that the whole world is sanctioning Iran.   If you think we sell all or most of our oil to China you are sadly mistaking.   Most of our oil is sold on the international waters to Shell, Stat Oil,.....and other Euro Royals which these days have become big time "Refined Oil" exporters.   This particular sanction will hurt everyone...IR, Iranian people, USA, EU, China, India.... only helps the northern Europe Royals (England, Norway, Holland,.......) who will do anything saving their interests while they still have their boy Obama in the White House. 

BTW - Calling people conspiracy Theorists is the new form of censorship....and keeping people quiet.   Obama is a Northern Euro puppet who openly works against the best interests of the United States...

The sooner we get rid of IR and resume aliance/friendship with USA - the sooner the world will go back to normal.

Darius jaan it's much better than the overused word "genre"!

Everything is sacred

Iran is the Sarah Palin of the world!

Good discussion and I especially liked this part:

KARIM SADJADPOUR: Well, Iran has this schizophrenia because it simultaneously has delusions of grandeur and profound insecurity. You could call it the Sarah Palin of nations.

Everything is sacred

Karim Sadjadpour's two favorite words ;0)

Iranian supreme leader's "Modus operandi "

and

Iranian "vantage point"

He keeps using them in nearly ALL the Interviews I've read or seen of him.

;0)