FM Javad Zarif flips Boss Tweet the bird

Submitted by wendy davis on Wed, 04/22/2020 - 10:44am

…and on (blue bird) Twitter, no less.

‘We don’t take advice from ANY American politician’: Iran’s Zarif rejects Trump’s ventilator offer’, 19 Apr, 2020, RT.com

“Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif has rebuffed an offer by US President Donald Trump to send ventilators to Iran, claiming that the Islamic Republic will be exporting its own devices “in a few months.”

Trump offered a number of the US’ “excess ventilators” to Iran during a press briefing on Saturday. “If they need ventilators, which they do, I would send them ventilators,” Trump said.

Though the offer was a humanitarian one on its surface, Trump followed it up with a characteristic flex on Iran. “Right now they just want to survive,” he said, adding “they’re loaded up with the plague.”

Iran will be EXPORTING ventilators in a few months, @realdonaldtrump.

All you need to do is stop interfering in the affairs of other nations; mine especially.

And believe me, we do not take advice from ANY American politician.

— Javad Zarif (@JZarif) April 19, 2020

Trump’s gesture was one of several American overtures to Tehran since the outbreak of Covid-19. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced in February that he offered to help Iran contain its coronavirus outbreak, claiming that the country’s health infrastructure couldn’t handle the pandemic. Iran was among the world’s worst-hit countries by the virus at the time, but when cases began to mount in the US a month later, Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei called the American offer “strange,” and replied: “You are suffering from shortages… If you have anything, use it on yourselves.”

On the left sidebar: ‘Pompeo says ‘no sanctions’ prevent Covid-19 aid to Iran, as US blocks $5bn IMF loan & ignores calls to lift penalties’, 8 Apr, 2020, RT.com

“I’ve heard people talking about sanctions. The world should know there are no sanctions that prevent humanitarian assistance, medical supplies, pharmaceuticals from going to Iran,” Pompeo told reporters at a White House briefing on Wednesday, adding that the US offered to send aid but Iran refused.

Tehran has repeatedly slammed the US pressure campaign – which makes effectively impossible the bank transactions necessary to purchase vital supplies from overseas – deeming it a “historical disgrace” and “economic terrorism” that only complicates efforts to contain the fast-moving epidemic.” […]

“Some of Washington’s European allies have sidestepped US sanctions and sent medical supplies to Iran this week. Asked about this, US President Donald Trump said that the deliveries “don’t bother” him, but ruled out lifting or easing the sanctions.

The United Nations and other humanitarian bodies have repeatedly urged Washington to ease its sanctions amid the health crisis, with the UN Human Rights Commissioner Michelle Bachelet warning they were “impeding medical efforts” and could lead to the “collapse” of Iran’s healthcare system.”

In phone call today w/ Pres Putin, we agreed on the importance of int'l cooperation to fight #COVID19.
Also agreed that EU must take action against US unlawful behaviors, incl its veto of Iran’s loan request from the IMF to fight pandemic.
Tehran-Moscow will implement agreements.

— Hassan Rouhani (@HassanRouhani) April 21, 2020

(cross-posted from Café Babylon)

Tags:

empire & war crimes

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Comments

Submitted by vtcc73 on Wed, 04/22/2020 - 12:29pm

Which leads to a curious question:

How does someone who has been a complete dick their whole life get someone to believe they're not being a dick right now when they're just being a little less dickish? Why won't that work? How much more unreasonable can the Iranians be? What do they want?

Inquiring mind(les)s (idiots) want to know.

—

"Ah, but I was so much older then, I'm younger than that now..."

Submitted by Raggedy Ann on Wed, 04/22/2020 - 1:10pm

There's a problem in your thinking.

@vtcc73
He's still a dick and it was not a humanitarian gesture. The dick is trying to diminish Iran's capability to heal itself. Iran is doing just fine in their fight with the virus. They have a recovery rate of 73% while we have a recovery rate of 10%. He's still a dick.

—

"The “jumpers” reminded us that one day we will all face only one choice and that is how we will die, not how we will live." Chris Hedges on 9/11

Submitted by vtcc73 on Wed, 04/22/2020 - 2:05pm

I needed the snark tag, huh?

@Raggedy Ann

—

"Ah, but I was so much older then, I'm younger than that now..."

Submitted by Raggedy Ann on Wed, 04/22/2020 - 2:28pm

I wouldn't agree that your comment

@vtcc73
warranted a snark tag. It's legit. He's a dick.

—

"The “jumpers” reminded us that one day we will all face only one choice and that is how we will die, not how we will live." Chris Hedges on 9/11

Submitted by vtcc73 on Wed, 04/22/2020 - 4:42pm

May I offer "they" rather than "he"?

@Raggedy Ann @Raggedy Ann The political system and government have undeniably become criminal enterprises. Seems they always had the plausibly deniable appearance of being legitimate but no longer. Trump is but a symptom.

—

"Ah, but I was so much older then, I'm younger than that now..."

Submitted by Raggedy Ann on Thu, 04/23/2020 - 9:15am

Actually,

@vtcc73
Herr Drumpf is their useful idiot as was Obama and the rest of them. He's still a dick.

—

"The “jumpers” reminded us that one day we will all face only one choice and that is how we will die, not how we will live." Chris Hedges on 9/11

Submitted by wendy davis on Wed, 04/22/2020 - 2:11pm

if i'm getting it,

@vtcc73

you've left out the snark tag.

but i got to thinking that it's as though iran's fighting against this administration's version of w.t. sherman's civil war scorched earth policyon edit 2:09: our comments crossed in close time. ; )

Submitted by vtcc73 on Wed, 04/22/2020 - 2:26pm

Spot on

@wendy davis @wendy davis No worries.

—

"Ah, but I was so much older then, I'm younger than that now..."

Submitted by wendy davis on Wed, 04/22/2020 - 3:56pm

no worries?

@vtcc73

no comprende, amigo/a. i sure did fuck up my edits, though.

Submitted by vtcc73 on Wed, 04/22/2020 - 4:41pm

No amiga.

@wendy davis Todo esta muy bien.

—

"Ah, but I was so much older then, I'm younger than that now..."

Submitted by NYCVG on Wed, 04/22/2020 - 1:16pm

Trump's condescension toward Iran is coming to an end

The changes in the oil market, specifically the alignment of Russia Iran Syria Turkey and China are making Trump's opinions and actions less relevant every day.

Iran is right to tell him to go fuck himself when he offers charity.

If Trump had the slightest understanding of forces other than his own, he'd either ease sanctions or keep his dumb mouth closed.

—

NYCVG

Submitted by wendy davis on Wed, 04/22/2020 - 2:17pm

excellent point.

@NYCVG

but as empires die, they become full-tilt loose-cannon bullies, and exert their power as they're able.

and as edward said once said:

‘Every single empire, in its official discourse, has said that it is not like all the others, that its circumstances are special, that it has a mission to enlighten, civilize, bring order and democracy, and that it has a mission to enlighten, civilize, bring order and democracy, and that it uses force only as a last resort.’

and maximum pressure on iran (VZ, bolivia, the list goes on) means fomenting an insurgency inside even with the help of the CIA, special ops, etc.

Submitted by wendy davis on Wed, 04/22/2020 - 3:54pm

from boss tweet:

I have instructed the United States Navy to shoot down and destroy any and all Iranian gunboats if they harass our ships at sea.

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 22, 2020

via RT.com today: ‘Trump only wants to look strong & raise oil prices by threatening to shoot at Iranian gunboats’

Trump’s order is just another salvo in the ongoing 'war of words' with Tehran. The US leader “doesn’t want to look weak” either at home and on the international stage and “such statements allow him to look strong,” Coville explained.

In threatening Iran, Trump was actually targeting his electorate at home, because “anything that he’s doing right now has to do with his re-election campaign,” Maxim Suchkov, associate professor at the Moscow State Institute of International Relations, told RT.
With his nation now being the worst-hit in the coronavirus pandemic – over 815,000 have been infected and more than 46,000 have died – the US president is “trying to refocus the public to more conventional challenges to American security than what he has been facing at home,” Suchkov believes.

Trump's harsh words may still be about something more than just improving his image. “Another factor could be an unprecedented fall in global oil prices” caused by the pandemic, Hamidreza Azizi, Visiting Fellow at the German Institute for International and Security Affairs (SWP), pointed out.
.............................................
Threats of war have always been an important factor in increasing the oil prices.

#LooseCannonBullyTrump

Submitted by QMS on Wed, 04/22/2020 - 4:13pm

yeah, ok i f*ked up (trump) that covid thing

@wendy davis
but lets look at all the good times another war will do for my ratings!

really? msm won't call out this bs?

hold the dolts' feet to the fire.

explain how your ineptitudes won't continue

Submitted by wendy davis on Wed, 04/22/2020 - 5:50pm

depending on which MSM

@QMS

they'd applaud it, as the West hates iran, and still believe that the nation has nuclear weapons ambitions, regardless that nukes are against their religions.

boss tweet's approval ratings are going down to to 'pandemic response', but my guess is on 'strong leader' he might not have lost votes.

those were just various opinions, but they'd also opined that:

But even in this case, it wouldn’t necessarily mean that a US-Iran war will break out, Coville said. Sinking a patrol boat can’t compare to the killing of one of top Iranian military commanders, Qassem Soleimani, who perished in a US drone strike in Iraq in January.

as to 'sinking a patrol boat', under Boss Tweet's tweet, one wag subtweeted that er...one doesn't 'shoot down' a patrol boat. KaBoom! (i think if you click his tweet to stand alone, you'll see the subtweets.)

but these skirmishes have been going on for a long time now, as well as those w/ the chinese navy in the south china sea. full spectrum dominance command-and-control.

Submitted by CB on Wed, 04/22/2020 - 7:03pm

The US has been slowly and inexorably

@wendy davis
losing in the sphere of "full spectrum dominance" during the last decade - this in spite of record setting expenditures on 'defense'. It will also be impossible to make up for these losses, especially with the current cost to the economy of the coronavirus pandemic running rampant within the country.

Submitted by wendy davis on Wed, 04/22/2020 - 9:34pm

yes, and dr. jeffrey kaye

@CB

who has spent much of his life exposing 'US torture' had always laughed at me at FDL for using 'alleged defense', pentagon killing apparatus' etc., and finally told me that we can call it 'the military budget'. russian weapons are far superior, at a 10th the cost, etc,

and as amerika has declined in supremacy of the planet... i hear you.

but from what i can see of your graph (enlarging it by 4, but fuzzifying it, of course:

‘the confirmed cases is lower than the number of total cases. US 800,00+. the main reason is limited testing (source: european cdc?) china and russia have 'flattened the curve.'

well, whoCARES corna stim package 3.5 just passed by the senate (another $48 billion?) is gonna take care of the 'testing'. and once again, many will be fine with their privacy rights being invaded 'to complete the testing nationwide'. guess i needn't say that i'm not.

thanks CB.

Submitted by wendy davis on Thu, 04/23/2020 - 8:26am

good morning.

in his april 22 op-ed at RT.com ‘Will Trump go to war with Iran to save America’s oil industry?’, scott ritter claims:

‘Almost immediately after Trump released his Tweet, the price of oil rebounded. Futures contracts for West Texas Intermediate (WTI) spiked to $13.49, after previously dropping to historic lows, bottoming-out at nearly negative $37. Likewise, Brent futures, which benchmark around 60 percent of global crude purchases, jumped $1.20 higher to $20.53 per barrel, after trading as low as $15.98. Normally the cause-and-effect relationship between the threat of war and the rise in oil prices would be viewed in a negative light. But these are not normal times.’

and reminds us that:

‘Back in September 2019, a drone and missile attack blamed on Iran—with or without the assistance of Houthi rebels—hit a pair of Saudi Arabian oil facilities, forcing them to shut down and thereby cutting Saudi Arabian oil production by 5.7 million barrels of oil a day, or five percent of global production. This attack came on the heels of a series of explosions targeting oil tankers in the strategic Strait of Hormuz in May 2019, attacks that, again, were blamed on Iran.’

another article at had reminded, well, ME, of this history:

‘In January, Trump said that the Pentagon had selected 52 targets on Iranian soil, which it would strike should Iran target “any American or American assets.”’

and two versions of why that hadn’t happened were ‘trump’s generals asked WTF?', and boss tweet thought better of it himself.

Submitted by OzoneTom on Thu, 04/23/2020 - 6:37pm