International trade is the sovereign right of all nations—free from restraints imposed by one state against another.
Sanctions on nations is the exclusive prerogative of Security Council members.
No country may legally impose them on others unilaterally. Taking this step breaches the UN Charter.
The US is an international outlaw state—proved time and again by its actions.
Nations going along with its hostile policies against other nation states are complicit in law-breaking.
The UN Commission on International Trade Law and the General Assembly affirmed the right of all nations to freely trade with others as a way of advancing and sustaining economic development.
International human rights law obligates all nations “to promote universal respect for, and the observance and protection of, all human rights and fundamental freedoms for all.”
Iran and Venezuela respect and observe international law principles.
Both countries are at peace with other nation states, threatening none.
They seek cooperative relations with other countries, respecting their sovereign rights.
The Islamic Republic of Iran was established to end a generation of US-installed fascist dictatorship.
The Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela was established by Hugo Chavez’s December 1998 election to end tyrannical rule that preceded it.
Longstanding US policy is all about pressuring, bribing, bullying, and/or bludgeoning other nations to bend to its will.
Operating by its own rules exclusively, the rule of law abandoned, both right wings of the US war party aim to control planet earth, its resources, and populations—by whatever it takes to achieve its objectives, the human cost considered irrelevant.
That’s what the scourge of imperialism is all about, humanity’s greatest threat, especially in the thermonuclear age with WMD able to end life on earth by unprecedented mass destruction and nuclear winter—the latter creating conditions unable to sustain life.
The Trump regime imposed an illegal economic blockade on Venezuela, a flagrant international and US constitutional law breach.
The Pentagon militarized Caribbean Sea waters to block Venezuelan imports and exports—on the phony pretext of interdicting illicit drug traffic the US, its CIA, and money-laundering Wall Street banks support.
From Bush/Cheney to Obama/Biden to Trump/Pence, the US is waging illegal sanctions war on Venezuela and Iran.
The policy aims to suffocate their economies and immiserate their people.
Trump escalated what his predecessors began, aiming to cause mass casualties in both countries from deprivation.
A medieval siege of Venezuela is similar to Israel’s illegal blockade of Gaza.
It was imposed shortly after Hamas’ January 2006 democratic election as historic Palestine’s legitimate government, not the Israeli-installed PA to serve its interests at the expense of fundamental Palestinian rights.
The first of 5 Iranian tankers entered Venezuela’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ) late Saturday, reportedly carrying 1.53 million barrels of gasoline and alkylate, 4 other Iranian tankers to arrive in days.
On Saturday, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani warned the Trump regime that “[i]f our oil tankers in the Caribbean Sea or anywhere else in the world get into trouble caused by the Americans, they (US) will run into trouble reciprocally,” adding, “Considering a series of measures, the US has created unacceptable conditions in various parts of the world. However, we will never start tensions and clashes.”
“We always preserve the legitimate right of defense of sovereignty and territorial integrity and fulfillment of the national interests, and we hope the Americans would not make a mistake.”
Iran’s defense minister, General Amir Hatami, warned the Trump regime that the Islamic Republic “will definitely give a firm and decisive response if harassments continue or escalate.”
High seas interdiction of Iranian vessels by Pentagon warships would amount to international piracy, a bandit action by a belligerent state against a peaceful one.
Hatami stressed that Iran “will tolerate no act of harassment.”
By letter to UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres, Iranian Foreign Minister Zarif slammed what he called Trump regime “hegemonic gunboat diplomacy,” risking “a dangerous escalation,” adding that Iran “reserves its right to take all appropriate and necessary measures and decisive action… to secure its legitimate rights and interests against such bullying policies and unlawful practices.”
US SOUTHCOM commander Admiral Craig Faller falsely accused nonbelligerent Iran of seeking “positional advantage in our neighborhood in a way that would counter US interests [sic],” adding, “We’re tracking that closely and sharing intel with our partners.”
“I won’t comment any further… but I view the Iranian activity globally and in Venezuelan in specific as a concern [sic].”
Former Trump regime National Security Council official Juan Cruz downplayed an alleged Iranian threat, short of explaining it doesn’t exist, saying, “I don’t like to overstate it because it’s very convenient to do so,” adding, “People play around with it, and it’s like a boogeyman. When you want people to get nervous, you pull out Iran.”
The same goes for China, Russia, Venezuela, Syria, North Korea, Cuba, etc.
Their common thread is independence of US control and unwillingness to subordinate their sovereign rights to its interests.
Throughout the post-WW II period, no nations anywhere threatened US security—NONE!
So menaces were invented that didn’t and don’t exist to unjustifiably justify a permanent US state of war on humanity at home and abroad.
On Sunday, Iran’s embassy in Caracas said the first of its 5 tankers reached Venezuela’s coast without incident—expressing thanks “to the Bolivarian Armed Forces for escorting it.”
On Friday by letter to the Security Council and Guterres, Venezuelan UN envoy Samuel Moncada expressed concern about “the threat of imminent use of military force by the United States against Iranian vessels carrying Venezuelan-directed gasoline,” adding, “[A] naval blockade is aggravated by the fact that it aims to deprive an entire population of its vital means of subsistence. It is a crime of (attempted) extermination.”
On Saturday, AP News reported that the first of 5 Iranian oil tankers “reache[d] Venezuelan waters with no sign of [a] US threat.”
Venezuela’s Foreign Minister Jorge Arreaza tweeted the news, saying, “Today, the first ship with gasoline arrives for our people.”
According to maritime tanker tracking information, the last of 5 Iranian tankers en route to Venezuela is about three days from entering its waters as of Sunday.
In its latest edition, the Washington Post cited unnamed analysts, saying that 5 Iranian tankers carry an estimated 60 million gallons of gasoline, adding, the Trump regime “invoked the (long ago outdated) Monroe Doctrine” that rejects foreign interference in the Western hemisphere.
It’s a footnote in the dustbin of history where it belongs.
The US interferes regularly in parts of the world not its own by endless preemptive wars and other hostile actions—the highest of high crimes under international and constitutional law.
RSS
First of 5 Iranian tankers enters Venezuelan waters
Posted on May 26, 2020 by Stephen Lendman
First some facts establishment media suppress.
International trade is the sovereign right of all nations—free from restraints imposed by one state against another.
Sanctions on nations is the exclusive prerogative of Security Council members.
No country may legally impose them on others unilaterally. Taking this step breaches the UN Charter.
The US is an international outlaw state—proved time and again by its actions.
Nations going along with its hostile policies against other nation states are complicit in law-breaking.
The UN Commission on International Trade Law and the General Assembly affirmed the right of all nations to freely trade with others as a way of advancing and sustaining economic development.
International human rights law obligates all nations “to promote universal respect for, and the observance and protection of, all human rights and fundamental freedoms for all.”
Iran and Venezuela respect and observe international law principles.
Both countries are at peace with other nation states, threatening none.
They seek cooperative relations with other countries, respecting their sovereign rights.
The Islamic Republic of Iran was established to end a generation of US-installed fascist dictatorship.
The Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela was established by Hugo Chavez’s December 1998 election to end tyrannical rule that preceded it.
Longstanding US policy is all about pressuring, bribing, bullying, and/or bludgeoning other nations to bend to its will.
Operating by its own rules exclusively, the rule of law abandoned, both right wings of the US war party aim to control planet earth, its resources, and populations—by whatever it takes to achieve its objectives, the human cost considered irrelevant.
That’s what the scourge of imperialism is all about, humanity’s greatest threat, especially in the thermonuclear age with WMD able to end life on earth by unprecedented mass destruction and nuclear winter—the latter creating conditions unable to sustain life.
The Trump regime imposed an illegal economic blockade on Venezuela, a flagrant international and US constitutional law breach.
The Pentagon militarized Caribbean Sea waters to block Venezuelan imports and exports—on the phony pretext of interdicting illicit drug traffic the US, its CIA, and money-laundering Wall Street banks support.
From Bush/Cheney to Obama/Biden to Trump/Pence, the US is waging illegal sanctions war on Venezuela and Iran.
The policy aims to suffocate their economies and immiserate their people.
Trump escalated what his predecessors began, aiming to cause mass casualties in both countries from deprivation.
A medieval siege of Venezuela is similar to Israel’s illegal blockade of Gaza.
It was imposed shortly after Hamas’ January 2006 democratic election as historic Palestine’s legitimate government, not the Israeli-installed PA to serve its interests at the expense of fundamental Palestinian rights.
The first of 5 Iranian tankers entered Venezuela’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ) late Saturday, reportedly carrying 1.53 million barrels of gasoline and alkylate, 4 other Iranian tankers to arrive in days.
On Saturday, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani warned the Trump regime that “[i]f our oil tankers in the Caribbean Sea or anywhere else in the world get into trouble caused by the Americans, they (US) will run into trouble reciprocally,” adding, “Considering a series of measures, the US has created unacceptable conditions in various parts of the world. However, we will never start tensions and clashes.”
“We always preserve the legitimate right of defense of sovereignty and territorial integrity and fulfillment of the national interests, and we hope the Americans would not make a mistake.”
Iran’s defense minister, General Amir Hatami, warned the Trump regime that the Islamic Republic “will definitely give a firm and decisive response if harassments continue or escalate.”
High seas interdiction of Iranian vessels by Pentagon warships would amount to international piracy, a bandit action by a belligerent state against a peaceful one.
Hatami stressed that Iran “will tolerate no act of harassment.”
By letter to UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres, Iranian Foreign Minister Zarif slammed what he called Trump regime “hegemonic gunboat diplomacy,” risking “a dangerous escalation,” adding that Iran “reserves its right to take all appropriate and necessary measures and decisive action… to secure its legitimate rights and interests against such bullying policies and unlawful practices.”
US SOUTHCOM commander Admiral Craig Faller falsely accused nonbelligerent Iran of seeking “positional advantage in our neighborhood in a way that would counter US interests [sic],” adding, “We’re tracking that closely and sharing intel with our partners.”
“I won’t comment any further… but I view the Iranian activity globally and in Venezuelan in specific as a concern [sic].”
Former Trump regime National Security Council official Juan Cruz downplayed an alleged Iranian threat, short of explaining it doesn’t exist, saying, “I don’t like to overstate it because it’s very convenient to do so,” adding, “People play around with it, and it’s like a boogeyman. When you want people to get nervous, you pull out Iran.”
The same goes for China, Russia, Venezuela, Syria, North Korea, Cuba, etc.
Their common thread is independence of US control and unwillingness to subordinate their sovereign rights to its interests.
Throughout the post-WW II period, no nations anywhere threatened US security—NONE!
So menaces were invented that didn’t and don’t exist to unjustifiably justify a permanent US state of war on humanity at home and abroad.
On Sunday, Iran’s embassy in Caracas said the first of its 5 tankers reached Venezuela’s coast without incident—expressing thanks “to the Bolivarian Armed Forces for escorting it.”
On Friday by letter to the Security Council and Guterres, Venezuelan UN envoy Samuel Moncada expressed concern about “the threat of imminent use of military force by the United States against Iranian vessels carrying Venezuelan-directed gasoline,” adding, “[A] naval blockade is aggravated by the fact that it aims to deprive an entire population of its vital means of subsistence. It is a crime of (attempted) extermination.”
On Saturday, AP News reported that the first of 5 Iranian oil tankers “reache[d] Venezuelan waters with no sign of [a] US threat.”
Venezuela’s Foreign Minister Jorge Arreaza tweeted the news, saying, “Today, the first ship with gasoline arrives for our people.”
According to maritime tanker tracking information, the last of 5 Iranian tankers en route to Venezuela is about three days from entering its waters as of Sunday.
In its latest edition, the Washington Post cited unnamed analysts, saying that 5 Iranian tankers carry an estimated 60 million gallons of gasoline, adding, the Trump regime “invoked the (long ago outdated) Monroe Doctrine” that rejects foreign interference in the Western hemisphere.
It’s a footnote in the dustbin of history where it belongs.
The US interferes regularly in parts of the world not its own by endless preemptive wars and other hostile actions—the highest of high crimes under international and constitutional law.
Stephen Lendman lives in Chicago. He can be reached at lendmanstephen@sbcglobal.net. His new book as editor and contributor is titled “Flashpoint in Ukraine: How the US Drive for Hegemony Risks WW III.” Listen to cutting-edge discussions with distinguished guests on the Progressive Radio News Hour on the Progressive Radio Network.