OSINT flash: Obama dropped military sanctions against Iran

That's what OSINT (open-source intelligence) subscription site Geostrategy Direct is reporting. It's believable, especially given reports that the Commerce Department already dropped sanctions against Syria.

'Change' the mullahs can believe in: Obama to drop sanctions on Iran

...The United States has abandoned its policy of sanctioning companies that aid Iran's nuclear and missile program, [insiders] said.

The officials said the new Obama administration of has decided to end sanctions against Iranian government agencies or companies that aid Teheran's missile and nuclear program. The officials said Israel has been informed of the new U.S. policy... "We were told that sanctions do not help the new U.S. policy of dialogue with Iran," an official said.


[Ehud] Barak confirmed the new U.S. policy. In an address to the Herzliya Conference on Feb. 3, Barak said Washington did not say whether it would resume sanctions against Iran... Obama decided to end sanctions against Iran after determining that the U.S. measures had failed to block Teheran's missile or nuclear weapons program, officials said. Under the administration of former President George Bush, the United States accelerated sanctions on Iran in 2008.

...A U.S. defense source said the White House would no longer enforce sanctions imposed by the Bush administration. The source said the decision has already been relayed to Iran... "The administration has abandoned sanctions entirely," the U.S. source said. "It is a completely new ballgame."

Similarly, Obama has decided on a new U.S. ambassador to Syria and is expected to lift sanctions against a nation charged with aiding Al Qaida in Iraq and secretly building a nuclear reactor with North Korean assistance... The sources said the Obama administration was expected to suspend U.S. sanctions on Syria's military and energy programs...

If true, this represents a complete capitulation to Iran's "suicidal mystics with nukes."

The Iranian government is certainly hopeful.

President Barack Obama... has risen from the maelstrom of crises. He seems to have the vision of a leader who wants to undo the many wrongs done by his predecessors... his declared intention to engage in a dialogue with Iran over the nuclear issue is a gesture of goodwill. It is expected that sanity will prevail and volleys of vitriol let loose from the mind set of professional lobbyists will not result in the derailment of the present trend, that peace will prevail and many converts will be won to the common brotherhood of humanity. For peace many sacrifices have to be made, but first it has to be kept in mind that civilized countries that share a common heritage should consider mutual respect a common denominator for canceling out bitterness of the past.

...a dialogue with Iran over its nuclear program which Iran has always called its continuation its inalienable right in view of its peaceful nature... an indication of a possible dialogue does not seem a far-fetched idea of naïve thinking.

Moreover, both countries have the honor of being champions of human rights on the two opposite poles of history. Understanding and faith in goodness can unclog the clogged skepticism of the past. How happy the whole world would be when the fists get unclenched and peace prevails.

If sanctions truly have been dropped, the odds of a Middle East set afire just increased exponentially.


Update: "Hope and change in Damascus."

Linked by: Theo Spark. Thanks!