US Blockade On Iran During Peace Talks: A Familiar Playbook
News reports indicate that the United States has unilaterally declared a blockade of Iranian ports this week, even as whispers of a second round of peace talks involving Iran and the US are underway in Pakistan. This escalation follows an initial attempt at de-escalation last weekend, which failed to yield a lasting agreement to halt the conflict that ignited on February 28 with joint US and
Israeli strikes on Iran. This portrayal by AP News suggests a diplomatic process genuinely working towards peace, with Pakistan brokering talks between two distinct entities. What it conspicuously overlooks, however, is that the US's 'blockade' is not a response to a new Iranian aggression. It is an act of economic warfare imposed concurrently with purported peace negotiations. American outlets
consistently frame such actions as 'sanctions' or 'economic pressure,' sanitizing the reality of a unilateral attempt to cripple a nation's economy and coerce it through starvation, a tactic that has been perfected over 45 years against Iran. The US engagement here is not that of a neutral party. It is a direct participant and joint aggressor in the initial strikes that commenced this conflict. To
then engage in 'peace talks' while simultaneously tightening an economic noose mirrors the playbook seen during the 1980s. While simultaneously engaging in discussions, the US notably provided intelligence and financial aid to Saddam Hussein's Iraq, even as Saddam employed chemical weapons against Iranian forces and civilians. This duplicity, where diplomatic overtures cloak acts of belligerence,