Like the frog that believed it could be big as an ox, Macron patted himself on the back for tempering Donald Trump by proposing to revise the Iranian nuclear agreement, rather than tearing it. It failed. On May 8th, Trump announced the US backed out of the agreement and renewed economic sanctions against Iran. The American president followed this move by pressuring his western European allies to bring their policy on line with his. And now the Middle East war started by the Major Powers 15 years ago is stepped up further.
The very next day, Israel used this opportunity to conduct air strikes in Syria, hitting allegedly Iranian targets. Israel’s Prime Minister, Netanyahu, uses war to distract Israeli people from worsening social problems and corruption scandals.
Just like the alleged Iranian nuclear threat on the great America is just a way for Trump to justify his wars. The real motivation is to control the Middle-East, the world’s biggest oil area. And the Iranian people will once again be the victims of the changing deals and political games played by the major powers and the local dictatorships.
Iranian people have already endured many years of embargo from the US and their allies, including France, as punishment against the Islamic regime after the dictatorship of the Shah, a friend of the US, was toppled. But it was the poorest people who suffered from inflation and food shortages, not the Islamic leaders. The nuclear agreement that came into effect in January 2016, the lessening economic sanctions and the resumption of commercial trade with European countries raised hopes for the Iranian people. Hope of less unemployment. The demonstrations against the leaders last December and January expressed the first disillusion from the workers. The benefits from the new economic deal hadn’t reached them: prices are still high, as are unemployment and social inequalities. But as the door had been slightly open, it was slammed shut again.
In Iran, Syria or Yemen, civilian people also suffer from the greed of the great powers, and from their rivalries. Saudi Arabia, a long-term US ally, whose sovereign Macron recently welcomed in Paris with great fanfare, is ruled by a dictatorship as backward as the Iranian regime. It is waging its own war against Iran by destroying Yemen, where Iran supports the houthist rebellion.
So, the weak protests of the European leaders against Trump’s decision are not driven by humanitarian concerns. Just a few weeks ago Macron was acting tough when his air force bombed Syria, together with Trump’s. The only thing he is worried about is that the US decision is a big problem for French companies. Since the 2015 nuclear agreement, France has become one of the main foreign investors in Iran. Companies such as Peugeot, Renault, Total, Vinci and many others have benefitted from this opportunity. Now Trump threatens them with economic retaliation if they don’t observe the boycott. Not to worry, they will still be able to sell weapons, fighter jets and ships to Egypt, Saudi Arabia and others.
Remember that those who fill their pocket on the back and blood of the Middle East people are also the ones for which Macron and his team are waging a social war against us.
