"At a separate meeting with U.S., European and Arab businessmen, Rouhani said Iran was seeking investment particularly in car manufacturing, oil and gas, petrochemicals, road and rail infrastructure and mining, a participant said. He ignored a question from two U.S. businessmen who said they had Israeli passports and asked if they could invest in Iran. The Islamic Republic does not recognise the Jewish state. Most sanctions, including a severe squeeze on Iran's access to the international financial system, remain in force and the United States has stressed Western companies should not regard Iran as "open for business." Reuters
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It will be interesting to see what wil be said by the Likudniks in the US Congress about this development. pl
http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/01/23/us-davos-iran-rouhani-idUSBREA0M0KC20140123
Europe is in economic doldrums, there are 75 million well-educated Iranians looking for economic progress, and so the plane-loads of German, French and Italian businessmen trekking to Teheran to make deals will moot any new US sanction activity. Plus oil shipments are up.
And this new sanction promotion will come, since the two US goals of Iran nuclear dismantlement and investigation of possible military dimensions, requiring snooping around Iran military bases, will come to nought. Iran won’t accept either one.
How Peres’ memory can be so short about the travails of the Israelis in South Africa under apartheid ?
http://www.forbes.com/sites/bruceupbin/2014/01/23/israeli-president-shimon-peres-bites-back-at-iranian-presidents-address-at-davos/
“He didn’t announce that Iran would stop being the center of terror in our time,” citing the places in the world such as South Africa and South America where Hezbollah has been active. “We can see their finger many terrible pies.”
Yep when israel does it , no peep but when Iran does something the zionists can’t stop .
A piece of good news;
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-01-22/israeli-jet-parked-next-to-iranian-sparks-davos-thaw.html
BUT ….
The economist was forced to remove this caricature :
http://forward.com/articles/191283/the-economist-pulls-anti-semitic-cartoon-on-barack/
Truth hurts sometimes.
“He ignored a question from two U.S. businessmen who said they had Israeli passports and asked if they could invest in Iran.”
Well, the businessmen can use the same method that they use in dealings with The Kingdom.
“there are Israelis in Doha,” another Saudi ally, and another state that bans entry to Israelis. “Sometimes you can hear Hebrew spoken in the malls. They’re all dual nationals who travel on non-Israeli passports, but from what I understand there is a lot of business to be done.”
http://www.juancole.com/2014/01/arabia-keeping-pariah.html
This is very smart politics on Rouhani’s part. No other markets of Iran’s size and potential remain closed to Western business. Some companies, like Peugeot, have suffered from sanctions. Going around Washington’s back to the real centers of power–business–can drive a wedge into the blockade and create the positive momentum Iran needs to bust the sanctions. And, if all else fails, Russia can do barter deals which clearly quantify the opportunities lost to the West.
Washington has to know that sanctions days are numbered.
Absolutely, the Europeans are clamboring over each other to get into Iran- check on how many airlines have now opened routes to Tehran. They have historic trade ties to Iran, and want badly to reopen them. And as noted in the article – being first in, is crucial to business.
http://www.foxnews.com/world/2014/01/22/european-businesses-rushing-toward-iran-in-hope-new-deals-as-first-sanctions/
“what wil be said by the Likudniks in the US Congress about this development?”
Here’s my guess:
“Western investment? Without the Iranian regime having having formally surrendered to the US and committed ritual suicide i.e. abolished itself? Appeasement!”
“He didn’t announce that Iran would stop being the center of terror in our time”
Nice, Peres asserts glibly that Iran is center of terror in our time – and moves on.
Well, Rouhani also didn’t announce that he would stop beating his wife! Neither did he admit to the fact that that Iran was behind the latest epidemic of spoiled milk in southern Australia. Or that it was Iranian Republican Guards that caused the Elk River chemical spill (the absence of evidence is indicative – only they are so devious to pull it off without leaving any clues as to their guilt!)
As far as terror goes nobody beats the Gulfies generous sponsorhip of suicide bombing, stoning and head chopping Jihadis. But since they don’t kill Izzies for the time being … let’s just blend that out, shall we …
The sanctions regime will erode. There’s too much money to be made. And if the West stays solid, the Chinese, Russians and former SSRs will make the money. Prior to the 2003 invasion, the Iraqi sanctions regime was about to collapse. I think sanctions in Iran will be dialed back, so that non-nuclear and non-military trade and financial transactions can resume, if at limited levels or with additional restrictions.
I agree; and there won’t be any investments from EU either.
There is no light between US and EU when it comes to Iran; after all, Iran is challenging the central pillar of their religion – Shoah.
The absurd thing about these routine allegations that folks like Peres level against Iran on a near daily basis is that they are just the very thing that Israel untiringly accuses everybody else of:
In the very nature of the argument there is no distinction between asserting the Jews being behind everything and asserting that Iran is the center of terror i.e. behind everything. Both assertions are equally silly and devoid of substance.
I wager that these days Sunni Jihadism is responsible for an overwhelming share of global terrorism. That fact alone makes Peres’ assertion that, of all countries, the Shiite Iranian regime is “the center of terror” in our time utterly ludicrous.
The people doing the lion’s share of terrorism are Iran’s self professed mortal enemies (with the Izzies having the dubious benefit of being somewhat lower on the Jihadi enemies list), and most certainly not steered or supported by them.
Form an Israeli micro-pespective that probably doesn’t matter since Iran supports Hezbollah (iirc Hamas was pried out of the Iranian orbit some time ago), and that is probably tantamount to ‘being the center of terror in our time’ – another glib assertion.
In other words: “Me, Me, Me!”
But it’s probably not that the Israelis are hypochritical. They are just tone deaf – the only victim ever in the world is them.
That, or they know it’s BS and try to stay on message anyway. Why let pesky facts get in the way of a talking point?
As Ayalon said recently – Kerry and the West just don’t understand the Middle East and need Israeli guidance.
Speaking of Kerry;
http://www.irdiplomacy.ir/en/page/1927712/U.S.+slams+Syrian+diplomat+for+speech+at+peace+talks.html
however, nowhere in the MSM did we see what the Syrian Mooallem did say:
[ quote]Syrian Foreign Minister: any outcome of the negotiations will be the subject of a national referendum
22.01.2014 – Today, at the opening of the World Conference on Syria in Montreux made Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Moallem, He said that the results of the negotiations will be submitted to a referendum and called a number of states to stop supporting terrorists in his country. “We arrived here to represent the people and the country. Yes, Mr. Kerry U.S. Secretary of State), everyone should understand that nobody in the world except the Syrians, has no right to deny the legitimacy or confer legitimacy of the president or the government, the constitution or the law, or anything else in Syria. This – the right and constitutional duty. And everything that we agree here, will be the subject of a national referendum.”[ end of quote]
http://www.innercitypress.com/syria3montreux012214.html
poor Charlie Brown aka Ban Ki Moon knew exactly when to give the Syrian FM the brush off, as if someone coached him well in advance.
Looks like the Syrian regime may quit the Geneva talks according to the BBC.
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wrt Israel
You said it: they want to be always in the picture or being talked about.
Heck there are $100B sitting in foreign banks that alledged victims of hizb’Allah ( another word the iranian govt) can claim thru some ADL/AIPAC influence.
Babak Makkinejad,
You still do not understand.
Netanyahu and his ilk have smirked away the cult of the Shoah. Or, putting the same point another way, it has beome disestablished.
Sir,
Seeing articles such as the following one in conservative publications (admittedly British, but still) gives me hope. Also, look at the comments.
http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/news/douglascarswellmp/100255791/is-iran-now-more-liberal-than-saudi-arabia-do-we-need-to-change-allies/
Beaver,
The full text of Walid al-Moallem’s opening statement at Geneva II:
http://www.globalresearch.ca/geneva-ii-syrian-foreign-minister-the-west-publicly-claims-to-be-fighting-terrorism-whilst-it-is-covertly-nourishing-it/5365833
Doesn’t sound as if they are rolling over anytime soon.
And cheers to that.
I am sick of hearing the same old nonsense from Bibi – that we must not dissent with Israel no matter what they do, because – holocaust. No questions please.
Adding injury to this insult to the listeners intelligence is the insufferable style in which Bibi delivers his idiotic message.
Gates wrote that his first impression when he met Bibi was that this guy should never again be allowed into the White House. I wonder, did he catch him rifling through files or something?
If there’s $$$ to be made in Iranian car manufacturing, oil and gas, petrochemicals, road and rail infrastructure and mining, you can bet American investors will be leaning hard on Congress to make it happen. A lobbyist battle royale between the Israel lobby and business lobby ensues with Congress creeps in the middle getting tugged in opposite directions. Let the bidding begin.
I do not think so.
I do not believe that a change of government in Israel will have any impact, one way or another, on the health of the semi-religion of Shoah in US or Europe.
Consider the fact that Israel attacked and massacred Arabs in Lebanon in 1982 – under Mr. Sharon – without any impact on that status of that cult.
Likewise in 2006, again, but under Mr. Netanyahu.
While US may be excused for her staunch support for Israel in her depredations against Arabs, how about EU?
One would have expected condemnation across the board, followed by breaking of diplomatic relations, and further still by a few “Crimes Against Humanity” indictments by the International Court of Justice.
Since on 2 very very serious cases no robust actions were taken by European states against Israel, one is led to conclude that the Cult of Shoah is Healthy and Well.
The second conclusion that follows is that Europeans do not consider Arabs human.