More U.S. Sanctions on Russia and Iran, as Russia Responds ‘Self-Deception Is a Dangerous Thing’

FROM EIR DAILY ALERT

More U.S. Sanctions on Russia and Iran, as Russia Responds ‘Self-Deception Is a Dangerous Thing’

Nov. 21, 2018 (EIRNS)— The U.S. Treasury put six individuals and three organizations on its sanctions list, claiming they were involved in oil shipments to the Syrian government. They include the Russian companies Global Vision Group and Promsyryeimport, and the latter company’s first deputy director Andrei Dogayev, two Iraqi nationals, a Lebanese, a Syrian and an Iraqi, as well as the Iranian-registered Tadbir Kish Medical and Pharmaceutical Company. The Treasury claims the scheme was aimed to support Syrian President Bashar Assad and provide financial assistance to Hezbollah and Hamas.

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo tweeted on Nov. 20: “Today’s US Treasury action targeting the Russia-Iran oil scheme to prop up Assad, and finance Hizballah & Hamas, sends a clear message: there are grave consequences for anyone shipping oil to Syria, or trying to evade U.S. sanctions on the Islamic Republic’s terrorist activities.”

In response to the new sanctions, the Russian Foreign Ministry issued a statement, reported by TASS:

“Accusations concerning oil supplies to Syria—a country whose armed forces have been fighting terrorist aggression for over seven years—look like a statement of support for terrorists, and also show a desire to prevent the reconstruction of the war-torn country, where many people live without electricity and heating. Is it what the United States really wants?”

The Russian ministry continued:

“At the same time, the main reasons for sanctions are rooted in the domestic political struggle in the United States, where each of the parties seeks to score points by whatever means, particularly by taking steps at the international level. As a result, these steps turn out to be clumsy,”

the statement reads.

“Washington has been demonstrating its inability to make our country change its independent stance at the international stage. U.S. politicians should start getting rid of illusions about the United States’ omnipotence that they convinced themselves of. Self-deception is a dangerous thing.”