"U.N. Security Council members Brazil and Turkey have chosen very different paths since they bothvoted against the latest round of U.N. sanctions on Iran. While Brazil has pledged to abide by the sanctions, despite their disagreement with them, Turkey's energy minister has vowed to bolster gasoline sales to Tehran. Turkey's gasoline sales have reportedly boomed to over five times their daily average, compared to the first half of this year.
Turkey is not the only U.S. ally looking to increase trade with Iran. In Iraq, a new Iranian trade center has recently opened, and Iran's ambassador has promised to double trade between the two countries, which he estimated at about $7 billion last year. Russia -- though few might call it a close U.S. ally -- is also getting in on the act. Its state atomic corporation is set to load fuel into Iran's first nuclear power plant next week.
It doesn't look like pressing more reset buttons with Turkey, Iraq or Russia is going to help the U.S. attempt to isolate Iran."
Saturday, August 14, 2010
US allies & 'friends' are not listening when it comes to Iran ...
FP:
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Right here you see the sanctions regime is crumbling already.
Iranian Deputy Oil Minister Alireza Zeighami says Iran is facing no problem in meeting domestic needs for gasoline or to import the oil product.
Meanwhile, Russian oil giant LUKOIL has also resumed gasoline sales to Iran in partnership with China's state-run firm Zhuhai Zhenrong.
http://www.presstv.com/detail.aspx?id=138618§ionid=351020103
And not mentioned by FP but just as valid. China.
(Reuters) - Chinese Vice Premier Li Keqiang told the visiting Iranian oil minister on Friday that Beijing would maintain cooperation with Tehran on existing projects, after the United States called on Beijing to observe sanctions.
The government was responding to comments by Robert Einhorn, special adviser for nonproliferation and arms control at the U.S. State Department, who said on Monday that China should observe sanctions against Iran aimed at forcing it to curtail its nuclear ambitions.
Western governments have pressed China to loosen its energy and economic ties with Iran, which they see as shielding Iran from international pressure.
http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE67527620100806
Looks like Turkey/Russia/China/Iraq are quickly making the sanctions kind of toothless. I personally think this was always China and Russia's game. They agreed to sanctions since it meant Western companies would be excluded from any energy related deals and now China-Russia are stepping in.
It certainly appears that Iran is not having any difficulty either in obtaining the long promised Nuclear material from Russia or obtaining Gas.
Gonzolegend
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