On Thursday, August 6 US Special Envoy to Iran Brian Hook announced his resignation, although a senior government official claimed that Hook had been asked to step down due to his alleged failure to give maximum pressures on Iran.

The senior official also told Washington Post that Iran had violated a uranium enrichment limit, accumulation, and production.

Pompeo Praises Hook

However, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo thanked Hook for the service for two years and praised him for successfully negotiating with Tehran for the release of two Americans.

“He successfully negotiated with the Iranians the release of Michael White and Xiyue Wang from prison. Special Representative Hook also served with distinction as the Director of Policy Planning and set into motion a range of new strategies that advanced the national security interests of the United States and our allies,” Pompeo said, adding that “he has been a trusted advisor to me and a good friend. I thank him for his service.” 

Hook to be Replaced by Elliott Abrams

The departure of Hook—who will be replaced by Elliott Abrams, a special representative for Venezuela and an anti-Iran hardliner—shows the Trump administration’s dissatisfaction over Iran. This is especially true given that US sanctions did not deter Iran from building its military and enriching uranium after the US left the Iran nuclear deal in 2018 — the Joint Comprehensive Plans of Action (JCPOA). Despite slamming the agreement as ineffective in pushing Iran to actually halt its nuclear ambitions, US withdrawal and sanctions have also not succeeded thus far.

China’s Military Base in Iran

Indonesian international affairs lecturer Yusran told InsideOver that the US is panicking over China’s plan to build a military base in Iran, given that Washington and Beijing have been involved in several spats, from trade and technology to the military showdown in the contested South China Sea.

“From what I heard China is going to set up a military base in Iran, which makes the US panic. Also, we see the sanctions will not stop Iran from building its military and enhancing its uranium even though Tehran allows an inspection from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA),” the lecturer at Budi Luhur University stated.

The military exercise held by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) two weeks ago also sent a warning that Iran is continuing to equip its military with sophisticated weapons.

Could There be a New Nuclear Deal?

The answer is uncertain and it is unlikely to happen unless all the JCPOA signatories can sit together to solve the dispute.

“European countries — particularly Germany and Russia which are signatories to the deal — can put pressure on the US to negotiate,” Yusran said.

Germany is seen as the most influential power in the continent, with a stable political situation. European Commission President Ursula Von Der Leyen is also from Germany. 

While Russia is respected as one of the world’s nuclear powers and military powerhouses, Russia, as well as China also has a good relationship with Iran and the three nations held a joint military exercise at the end of 2019.

Yusran hailed the JCPOA as the most effective deal, signed by the Obama administration in 2015. The agreement stipulates a limit on the extended time needed by Iran to produce a nuclear bomb.

How Worried is the US About Iran?

The US is the world’s military powerhouse. However, Washington is concerned that a nuclear Iran will threaten the Middle Eastern stability.

“Of course, the US is above all. However, when it comes to uranium enrichment, the US may have worried that it would trigger a nuclear war in the volatile Middle East,” the head of the Indonesian International Affairs Association (AIHII) stated.

“The military option will not create a stable region as we see how the situation is going on in the Middle East. Look at Syria, Libya, and Lebanon. Also, many countries are entering the region to exert their influence. For example, China and Turkey,” he added.

US Withdrawal from Iran Nuclear Deal Sparked Worldwide Protests

The White House departure from the JCPOA sparked a worldwide protest. Trump alleged that Iran had violated the deal despite the IAEA saying the opposite.

The European Union protested Trump’s unilateral withdrawal. The bloc set up a mechanism that facilitates financial transactions with Tehran without avoiding the US sanction aimed at maintaining Europe’s interest in Iran.

“European countries also want to maintain a good relationship with Iran since they have companies operating in Iran. They also want to protect their assets in Iran,” Yusran said.

Maximum Pressure on Iran and the US Election

Yusran elaborated that Trump would use the Iran issue to boost electability among Conservative voters since the real estate mogul’s popularity has declined, mainly due to the COVID-19 mitigation and the mass protest against police brutality last May.

“Foreign issues can be utilized to boost votes ahead of the 2020 presidential election,” Yusran stated.

Trump has unilaterally withdrawn from several international agreements such as the JCPOA and the INF (Intermediate-range Nuclear Forces). The most recent is the U.S announced its formal withdrawal from the World Health Organization (WHO) in July 2021.

“When it comes to foreign affairs, Trump seems to take an anti-mainstream measure by unilaterally abandoning the international agreement. We will see whether his ‘breakthrough’ will help him in the election,” Yusran said, wrapping up the interview.

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Iran recently announced it had signed an agreement with Syria aimed at countering attacks from the US and Israel. The agreement was signed by Iranian Armed Forces Chief Staff Major General Mohammad Bagheri and Syrian Defense Minister Gen. Ali Abdullah Ayyoub.

The two high-ranking officials from both countries signed on agreement on Wednesday, July 8, making Tehran’s efforts to strengthen Syria’s defense a key part of the deal.

“We will strengthen Syria’s air defense systems and will be improving military cooperation between the two countries,” Bagheri stated as quoted on an Iranian TV station, adding that the agreement will further counter US pressures on Syria.

The Pact Sends a Strong Warning to Israel

The agreement sends a strong alert to those who want to sabotage Tehran-Damascus ties. In early July, Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu threatened Assad if Syria does not stay away from Iran.

 “We will not allow Iran to establish a military presence in Syria,” Netanyahu told reporters alongside with US Representative for Iran Brian Hook.

Iran has been engaged in the Syrian civil war—which has been going on for around 9 years and was triggered by Syrians’ dissatisfaction over the Assad regime—by supporting Assad and anti-Israel militant groups like Hezbollah.

Previously, Iran, Turkey, and Russia held a virtual meeting on the importance of a peace dialogue to end the bloodshed in Syria. The three presidents of those countries back the independence and territorial integrity of Syria and denounce Israel’s strikes.

Syria Reduces Reliance on Russia’s Air Defense

Under the agreement, Syria will not be heavily dependent on Russia’s air defense as Tehran will boost Syria’s air defense system. In 2018, Russia deployed its S-300 in Syria following Israel’s attack on Russia’s jet.

However, a source in Syria’s military told Russia’s media that radars used in the S-300 and Pantisir-S had not effectively detected and hit Israel’s cruise missiles on several occasions.

The Syrian S-300s have yet to be shot at Israeli planes so far due to Russia’s commitment to avoiding confrontation with the Jewish state.

Moscow seems to generally ignore Israeli attacks in Syria and rarely comments on Israel’s actions in the war-torn country. Also, Russia did not want to activate its air defenses, given that there seems to be a secret agreement between Tel Aviv and Washington.

The Iran-Syria military deal will not affect ties between Russia and Iran, given that both sides support Assad.

“Russia will appreciate enhanced Iranian support to strengthen Syria, and will most likely support this cooperation,” Hossein Royvaran, Iranian political scientist and a lecturer told the Nation.

The Agreement Will Not Expel ‘Illegal’ Foreign Troops from Syria

Boris Dolgov, a senior researcher at the Institute of Oriental Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences, told Sputnik that the Iran-Syria deal would not remove “illegal” foreign troops from Syria, referring to the US and its allies.

“Iran has supported Syria in the fight against terrorist groups since the beginning of the internal conflict in 2011 by sending military advisers, IRGC members, and volunteers to strengthen the Syrian armed forces. But there has never been a large Iranian military presence,” Dolgov said.

“Iran helped create a number of armed formations, including the people’s army with 50,000 participants, and provided financial and organizational support to create it. The agreement expands the current forms of military-technical cooperation; it is aimed at enhancing the fight against terrorist groups operating in Syria. Air defense strengthening is an important aspect of that. Israeli Air Forces still attack Syrian military facilities, which are partially used by Iranian forces. The agreement is precisely aimed at strengthening air defense systems to counter these illegal aggressive attacks,” Dolgov added in explanation.

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Following the January 3 assassination of Iranian General Qasem Soleimani, the United States and Iran came within inches of an all-out military conflict. On January 10, President Donald Trump signed Executive Order 13902 which compounded a crippling set of sanctions on Iran.

Also in January, China was just beginning to identify and deal with an unknown and deadly virus that was starting to infect people in the Chinese city of Wuhan. In a very short time, that virus became a worldwide pandemic know as Covid-19 or the coronavirus.

The Spread of Covid-19 and Iran’s Situation

As this virus made its way around the world and continues to do so, countries have been facing worst-case medical scenarios, which have led governments to enforce countrywide work stoppages, strict “social distancing” guidelines, and in many cases complete lockdowns.

Even the most advanced Western countries have come face-to-face with worst-case medical scenarios, leaving those less advanced in worse conditions.

For decades Iran has had a series of crippling sanctions imposed on them. These worldwide sanctions against Iran include preventing any international financial transactions and shipping, and trade, including that of medicine and medical equipment. These coupled with falling oil prices — Iran’s principal export — have debilitated the Iranian economy.

In a global economy, the sanctions have left Iran unable to compete in that environment. They have also left Iran prostrate should any worst-case situation impact the country. That worst-case scenario has arrived with the coronavirus.

Iran is in Dire Need of Help

As the virus spread through Iran, its government has been unable to react in the same manner that other governments have. The punishing financial nature of these worldwide sanctions against the country means Iran is unable to enforce the kinds of measures other nations have taken in order to properly combat the coronavirus.

According to Tehran Mayor Pirouz Hanachi, any kind of shutdown would be “nearly impossible to enforce because the government would be unable to financially support people unable to work.”

Like many countries battling the pandemic, Iran is in dire need of help — one citizen is dying every ten minutes and 50 become infected every hour.

As of 25 March, according to the Center for Systems Science and Engineering, Iran ranks sixth in the world with the number of confirmed cases of coronavirus. And the country is not expected to reach the apogee of the pandemic until May. Countries around the world, including top American adversaries China and Russia, and its strongest ally Britain, have implored the Trump administration to ease its sanctions on Iran.

However, US President Donald Trump is so committed to crushing Iran’s current government that instead he instituted a new round of sanctions on March 20, blacklisting 12 companies from trading in petrochemicals.

Is Trump Making the Iran’s Health Crisis Worse?

In addition to their request for the US to ease its sanctions, China defied US sanctions and sent a medical team, test kits, and ventilators to Iran after the country became a hot zone. As tensions between America and China continue to bubble, having Iran looking to China for help has the potential to upset the balance of power in the region away from the West.

In early March, Chinese Government spokesman Lijian Zhao poked fun at the US by tweeting, “might be the US army who brought the epidemic to Wuhan.”

Not easing the tension between Iran and the US, Iranian leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has also taken a page from Zhao’s propaganda playbook by claiming that the coronavirus “is specifically built for Iran using the genetic data of Iranians.”

The accusations of both China and Iran remain wholly unsubstantiated.

Taking aim at both China and Iran, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo referred to the coronavirus as the “Wuhan virus” and said Khamenei’s “fabrications are dangerous and they put Iranians and people around the world at greater risk.”

The approach that the United States has taken with Iran has been called “maximum pressure.” Yet the US Special Representative for Iranian Affairs, Brian Hook, has said:  “US sanctions are not preventing aid from getting to Iran,” which isn’t entirely accurate.

If Iran Can’t Beat Coronavirus Neither Can the World

In order to see through the inaccuracy of Hook’s claims it is necessary to understand some rather obscure language. The arcane legalese used for sanctions is challenging but in President Trump’s January 10 Executive Order it is stated in Sec. 4: “I hereby determine that the making of donations by, to, or for the benefit of any person whose property and interests are blocked…”

This includes:

• The making of any contribution or provision of funds, goods, or services by, to, or for the benefit of any person 
• The receipt of any contribution or provision of funds, goods, or services 
• Accepting deposits, making granting, transferring, holding, or brokering loans or credits
• Purchasing or selling foreign exchange, securities, commodity futures or options

Because banks were unable to process financial transactions, the international companies who manufacture the equipment and supplies needed to fight the coronavirus have stopped shipping to Iran.

To put it simply: Iran does not have the ability to institute measures that could “flatten the curve” and stop the spread of the coronavirus. This “maximum pressure” policy that the US has applied to Iran strictly prohibits both foreign and domestic companies and governments from lending aid as the country still faces the worst of the pandemic. 

This isn’t just a problem for the Middle East because if the international community continues to turn its back on Iran because of punitive measures, the world will face an endless battle with a deadly disease.

Iran’s inability to constrain the coronavirus means a potentially never-ending battle against the deadly Covid-19 for all of us.

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In a televised speech on Sunday, March 22, Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei expressed his thoughts on the United States’ recent offer to help Iran battle the coronavirus, calling the offer “strange” and American officials “charlatans and liars.”

“Several times Americans have offered to help us to fight the pandemic. That is strange because you face shortages in America. Also you are accused of creating this virus,” said Iran’s ruler.

Ayatollah: ‘Our Number One Enemy is America … Its Leaders Are Terrorists’

“Our number one enemy is America. It is the most wicked, sinister enemy of Iran … its leaders are terrorists … Liars and charlatans,” Khamenei was quoted as saying by Reuters on Sunday.

Tensions between Tehran and Washington have been on the rise particularly since 2018 when President Trump withdrew from the 2015 JCPOA nuclear deal and imposed sanctions on Iran in aims to bring its economy down. The other major recent event which shaped Iran’s ongoing negative perceptions of the United States was the killing of the Revolutionary Guards’ top commander Qasem Soleimani in a U.S. drone strike on January 3.

The United States is said to have offered Iran humanitarian aid for a few weeks now, but Iran kept rejecting those offers.

Pompeo Says US Has Repeatedly Offered Help to Iran

In late February, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said that Washington was ready to help Iran to combat the coronavirus.

“We’ve made offers to the Islamic Republic of Iran and we make clear to others around the world and the region that humanitarian assistance to push back against the coronavirus in Iran is something that the United States of America fully supports,” Pompeo told the House Foreign Affairs Committee on Friday, February 28.

But Tehran denounced the offer as “ridiculous” and “hypocritical” and said it was part of a political and psychological game carried out by Washington against the Islamic Republic, the Tehran Times reported later in early March.

Iran has been unwavering in its position that, if the United States was willing to help Tehran, it should first lift the economic sanctions that have crippled its economy so far.

Iranian President Rouhani: ‘American Leaders are Lying’

On Monday, March 23, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani joined Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in rejecting the U.S. late offer and reiterated his position that the United States could only help by lifting those sanctions so that Iran can manage the coronavirus outbreak.

“American leaders are lying,” President Rouhani said in a televised speech. “If they want to help Iran, all they need to do is to lift sanctions.”

“You have blocked Iran’s oil exports, you have stopped Iran’s banking transactions… Your help offer is the biggest lie in the history,” he added.

Rouhani has previously called on Americans to urge their government to lift the economic sanctions it imposed on Tehran, blaming the United States of knowingly hindering Iran’s efforts to contain the coronavirus.

China and Russia Urge US to Relax Iran Sanctions

Other powers such as China and Russia had called on the United States to lift sanctions immediately after the coronavirus outbreak in Iran earlier this year. But the United States remained uncompromising and said last week it would not lift those sanctions, which have long aimed to bring Iran’s energy exports to “zero,” even amidst the current crisis.

“Our policy of maximum pressure on the regime continues,” Brian Hook, the U.S. Special Representative for Iranian Affairs, said in a press conference on Friday, March 20, adding that those sanctions were “not preventing aid from getting to Iran.”

Iran’s Massive Coronavirus Death Toll

Iran is the Middle Eastern nation worst hit by the coronavirus, with over 1,800 deaths and 23,049 infected people as of Monday, March 23. The Iranian Health Ministry said one person is dying from the virus every 10 minutes in Iran.

The outbreak there has even reached the higher echelons, infecting a number of senior officials, politicians, lawmakers, clerics and members of the elite Revolutionary Guards, with a dozen reported deaths.

Rejecting the United States’ offer to help, Iran said it was equal to defeating the virus regardless.

“The Islamic Republic has the capability to overcome any kind of crisis and challenges, including the coronavirus outbreak,” Khamenei said on Sunday, as he called on people to stay at home.

Regional Rivals and EU Help Iran

Other regional foes have already put their differences with Iran behind them to help the Middle East’s epicenter of the coronavirus. Earlier this month, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait and Qatar offered humanitarian airlift and medical equipment and supplies to Iran despite their tense relations.

On Monday, the European Union also said it was willing to send €20 million in humanitarian aid to Iran to help alleviate the coronavirus outbreak, and will support Tehran’s request for I.M.F. financial help.

The E.U. Minister of Foreign Affairs Josep Borrell said the European Union agreed “in supporting the request by Iran and also by Venezuela to the International Monetary Fund (I.M.F.) to have financial support.”

Iran also said the offer it received from Washington was insincere because the U.S. healthcare system is finding it hard to contain the virus there.

The United States has now more confirmed cases than Iran, though with fewer deaths, with 42,000 infections as of Monday, and 559 deaths. The State of New York is the U.S. epicenter of the coronavirus, accounting for about half of the national cases and 6% of global cases with 20,875 cases as of Monday morning.

On Tuesday, The World Health Organization said that the United States could even become the next global epicenter of the coronavirus pandemic.

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