Clinton Calls for More Sanctions on Iran

January 17, 2016

Comments

Via The Hill: Clinton calls for new sanctions on Iran

Hours after the U.S. dropped sanctions on Iran as part of the nuclear deal, Democratic primary front-runner Hillary Clinton called for new sanctions on the nation for its ballistic missile program.

Clinton on Saturday praised President Obama for securing the safe return of four U.S. citizens and implementing the Iranian nuclear deal, but warned that all concerns about Iran are not assuaged.

“Iran is still violating UN Security Council resolutions with its ballistic missile program, which should be met with new sanctions designations and firm resolve,” she said.

“These prisoners were held unjustly by a regime that continues to threaten the peace and security of the Middle East,” Clinton added. “Another American, Bob Levinson, still isn’t home with his family.”

Clinton said, as president, her policy toward Iran would be to “distrust and verify.

The former secretary of State said the U.S. should not “thank” Iran for releasing prisoners unjustly held or for following through on its obligations.

“The treatment of our Navy sailors earlier this week was offensive, including the release of demeaning and provocative videos,” she added, referring to the brief capture of 10 sailors who inadvertently crossed into Iranian waters.

I will admit that I do not know enough about Iran’s ballistic missile program to have an opinion on whether sanctions in that regards have merit or not. However, I will say that calling for new sanctions at the very moment that old sanctions regime was being lifted stinks of campaign posturing and not sound policy (and, yes, she is campaigning, so what do I expect?).

What is striking here as well is that a) Clinton, if elected, will not be Obama on foreign policy, and b) what she is saying above could be said by many GOP candidates (except the praise of Obama part).

Update: Proving that, in fact, I do not know enough about this subject to comment, Doug Mataconis notes in the comments that the Obama administration has announced the exact sanctions Clinton called for: see USAT.

And the perils of blogging are exposed yet again, even if I break the Blogger’s Code by admitting an error in public and everything.

12 responses to “Clinton Calls for More Sanctions on Iran”

Hal_10000

January 17, 2016 at 12:46 pm

This is idiotic. If we’d imposed more sanctions after the missile test, Iran would have backed out of the agreement to return the prisoners. And it would have accomplished nothing other than another exercise in Foghorn Leghorn foreign policy.
Doug Mataconis

January 17, 2016 at 12:54 pm

It’s worth noting in this regard that the United States has indeed imposed new sanctions related to the ballistic missile program, as President Obama announced this morning.
Steven L. Taylor

January 17, 2016 at 1:02 pm

@Doug Mataconis: Thus proving I do not know enough about the subject to comment.

Thanks.
Doug Mataconis

January 17, 2016 at 1:05 pm

@Steven L. Taylor:

Like that’s ever stopped half the Internet!
Steven L. Taylor

January 17, 2016 at 1:08 pm

@Doug Mataconis: Indeed.
Doug Mataconis

January 17, 2016 at 1:11 pm

FYI, The New York Times explains the new sanctions here. On the whole, they are fairly minimal.
Nick

January 17, 2016 at 9:17 pm

Admitting you’re wrong in a blog just shows you’re a liberal blogger. Compare favorably with the various bloggers who called for the invasion of Iraq and the absolute lack of subsequent apologies.
Tyrell

January 17, 2016 at 10:04 pm

Well, for sure the stipulations, rules, regulations, procedures, and protocols of the agreement need to be closely and continuously monitored. That may mean having our military and scientists on the ground there, with anytime and anywhere inspections.
Hopefully Iran’s leadership has maybe, possibly, and finally turned the corner away from radicalism. Many of still remember the 1980’s and that Ayatollah Khomeini, a person who looked like a character actor in a Sinbad movie. I have read that Iran has large populations of reasonable, intelligent people. It is time that they ran things instead of some nutcase.
It has only been a matter of months since their leader was calling for “death to the US”, “death to Israel”. Crowds in the streets were burning the US flag and hanging the president in effigy. Now, look, I don’t always agree with Barack, but they better lay off ! All of that was going on at the same time Kerry was negotiating that nuclear deal with them.
In the last few weeks, it has been near misses of US Navy boats* and Iranian missiles. Then the seizure of the Navy sailors. All of that needs further investigation. You don’t mess with our sailors ! England tried that and learned the hard way ( War of 1812: watch “First Invasion” documentary).These outrages must be investigated fully.
Hopefully things are changing in Iran. Now it is time to get some theme parks over there, McD’s, KFC, Starbucks, and American cable channels !
Iran must enforce human rights. Translation: basic human freedoms including freedom of the press, freedom of speech, freedom of religion (yes, the persecution and arrests of Christians and other religious groups must end, sorry), and the right to own firearms !
Hillary sees it straight when it comes to Iran: no nonsense. They behave and stay in line, everything will be fine and we will both get along.
We will see how this goes. This is a chance for Iran to shape up and get its act together, finally.
* You don’t mess with our Navy !

“If you need help, if you can find them, maybe you can hire the A Team !”
bill

January 18, 2016 at 11:50 am

so we essentially got 3 people out of the country in exchange for 7- and threw $1.7 billion at them for a “past debt”. if the obama admin was a pro football team front office they’d be the 2000-2010 detroit lions.
An Interested Party

January 18, 2016 at 9:58 pm

so we essentially got 3 people out of the country in exchange for 7- and threw $1.7 billion at them for a “past debt”.

Perhaps you would prefer a multi-trillion dollar war and thousands of Americans dead instead…
Matt

January 18, 2016 at 10:29 pm

@bill: That money was theirs already. WE gave them nothing we merely unfroze their accounts.
Tyrell

January 20, 2016 at 12:43 pm

@An Interested Party: What is needed is an investigation of the arrest, kangaroo court trial, and treatment of these Americans. Then an apology – this time from the leaders of Iran. Not from Secretary Kerry or the president.