In addition, as reported by The Times of London (http://www.thetimes.co.uk/tto/news/world/middleeast/article3554189.ece):
"Iran is spending billions of dollars in support of President Assad of Syria, creating a rift at the top of the regime in Tehran as the war remains deadlocked.
Failure to decide the Syrian conflict in favour of President Assad, despite huge military and financial support for the regime in Damascus, has caused a split between Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the Supreme Leader, and Iran’s spymaster, Qassem Suleimani."
But this is only half of the story. Iranian funds to finance the activities of Hezbollah in Lebanon are also growing scarce, and this could have dire consequences for the organization's future operations, both military and civilian. Although much of Hezbollah's funding has come from drug smuggling and money laundering, Iran has also subsidized Hezbollah in the amount of some $100 million annually.
Personally, I don't worry about Hezbollah. I am pretty sure that the so called "left" - the 21st century "left," unlike some earlier left with its old-fashioned concerns, such as jobs, housing, health care, education, justice - is quite capable of financing this "charming" group.
ReplyDeleteThe oldest profession can be obviously lucrative.
With the Iranian economy close to free-fall, the region approaches one of its most dangerous periods.
ReplyDeleteNow is the time that they will be seeking a foreign excuse to draw domestic attention from effect of sanctions, the crude mismanagement of the past decades, the suppression of women and the Green revolution.
The inflation rams home the effects of 500% increase in the past year's the price of meat, domestic fuel, petrol and flour.
Now the poor sector of society are also feeling the pinch and the regime will not be able to effectively compensate for these price hikes with meaningful handouts to their voting constituency.
Sanctions are working - and we should have reached this position three years ago, if Obama would have acted immediately with the suppression following the last elections.
Yes, and we have Obama with his Nobel prize and his tendency to "create" reality in the White House.
ReplyDeleteDo you remember his moronic appeal to Iranians (and the general posturing "we'll smile, they we'll smile and there will be smiles only in the world) followed by his criminal abandonment of the same Iranians.
Why there is silence about it?