Trump Targets Iran-Linked Countries, Ignores US Allies' Deep Ties
President Trump has declared a 25% tariff on goods from nations 'doing business' with Iran, a policy presented as bolstering sanctions amidst widespread protests there. The Bloomberg report, ever so dutifully stenographic, omits the long and inconvenient history of American and Israeli corporations, alongside their European counterparts, engaging in back-channel commerce and even strategic
military dealings with elements within Iran – sometimes during periods of heightened public hostility. One might recall the Iran-Contra affair, for instance, where the US exchanged arms for hostages with Iran, a detail often memory-holed when convenient. The irony, of course, is that these 'punitive' tariffs rarely touch the most influential players, often serving more as performative political
theater than genuine economic leverage, especially when US allies and even intelligence networks have their own complex, often clandestine, 'business' relationships with the very entities being targeted. It appears only certain types of 'links' to Iran warrant public condemnation and economic blockade, especially those not enriching Western military-industrial complexes.