Bernie Sanders and far-left “Squad” members Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) and Ilhan Omar (D-MN) are calling for U.S. sanctions on Iran to be lifted during the coronavirus crisis.
A letter was sent to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin Tuesday, signed by Sanders, AOC and Omar, along with more than 30 other lawmakers. The letter demands that the Trump administration “suspend sweeping U.S. sanctions on Iran that are hindering the country’s response to its massive coronavirus outbreak.” A notion practically parroting the Iran regime.
Squad Goals
AOC took to social media, retweeting an article that said the goal of the group was “to suspend sanctions on Iran…despite…Trump’s claims of having made enough humanitarian concessions.” Omar also hopped on Twitter to write that she “led the letter” and that “these sanctions aren’t changing the behavior of the Iranian government, but directly punishing innocent civilians.”
“Allowing this crisis to become more dire in Iran threatens significant harm not only to the people of Iran but also to people in the United States and around the world,” the group’s letter reads. If Iranian leaders wrote the letter themselves, it would hardly read any differently.
Let’s instead ask Iran to cancel all terrorism during this crisis.
And cancel killing Americans in Iraq during this crisis.
Humanitarian aid is exempted in U.S. sanctions frameworks, including for Iran.
Additionally Ayatollah Khamanei refused America’s offer of COVID-19 aid. https://t.co/4rdZvWlCCe
— Omar Qudrat (@omarqudrat1) March 31, 2020
RELATED: Iran President Admits Trump’s Sanctions Wiped Out Obama’s Nuclear Deal, Pallets of Cash
Bad Idea
Surprisingly, not everybody is on board with lifting sanctions on a terrorist regime and hoping that any economic fruit being born will be shared with the suffering people. Foreign Policy Magazine writes that the coronavirus is “absolutely no excuse to lift sanctions on Iran,” referring to any such action as “pandering to a brutal regime.”
“Iran’s clerical dictatorship cares more about its own survival than it cares about the welfare of the Iranian people.” The rogue regime has also failed to provide accurate numbers in the coronavirus plight, much as China has done. How is economic relief going to be foisted upon the people if they continually diminish the crisis at hand?
.@HassanRouhani admits @JZarif launched the recent campaign to influence public opinion to get sanctions lifted
FYI, this campaign was shared by @NIACouncil, @lsarsour @IlhanMN & blame the #COVID19 outbreak in Iran on sanctions
Iran’s health officials say there’re no shortages! pic.twitter.com/y1eb0KXuuY
— Masih Alinejad ️ (@AlinejadMasih) March 26, 2020
RELATED: Dr. Fauci Slaps Down CNN’s Jim Acosta Attempt To Say Trump’s Coronavirus Response Was Too Slow
Highlighting the aforementioned question, Iran has a well-documented record of diverting humanitarian goods to fund its terrorist operations. “The trouble with leniency on Iranian sanctions,” Clarion Project writer Shireen Qudosi explains, “is that Iran has been comparably complicit in secrecy and silencing of the true impact coronavirus has had on the country.”
“Leniency also does nothing to hold Iranian accountable for their conduct, domestically or internationally.”
3. The 32 members of Congress — including @Ilhan Omar — are not humanitarian good will agents. They are equal opportunists in human suffering, not realizing that steadfast accountability and consistency is key in dealing with rogue players.
— Shireen Qudosi (@ShireenQudosi) April 1, 2020
Pompeo, for his part, has expressed a willingness to review the sanctions. Via the Independent:
“We evaluate all of our policies constantly, so the answer is – would we ever rethink? – Of course.”
He added: “The United States understands this is a humanitarian challenge, a humanitarian crisis, and we are deeply committed to ensuring that humanitarian assistance gets to the people of those countries. We care more often about the people in those countries than their own leaders do.”
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani claimed in early January that President Trump’s strict sanctions cost his country $200 billion, effectively wiping out assets provided by the Obama administration.
This piece originally appeared in ThePoliticalInsider.com and is used by permission.
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