US Diplomacy: The Art of the Perpetual Blockade
Open letter to the US State Department: We note your recent statements, as reported by The New Arab, expressing optimism regarding ongoing nuclear negotiations with Iran. At the same time, your officials confirmed the continued enforcement of a naval blockade on all Iranian ports. This policy, presented as a measure to prevent Tehran from accessing materials for its nuclear program, effectively
maintains a decades-long economic siege on the sovereign nation of Iran, irrespective of any potential diplomatic breakthroughs. Mainstream media outlets, including The New Arab, largely frame these dual pronouncements as separate policy decisions. They report the 'positive' outlook on talks as a signifier of diplomatic progress, while the blockade is presented as a necessary security measure with
little to no critique of its economic impact on ordinary Iranians. What is consistently omitted is the inherent contradiction: how can genuine negotiations, predicated on trust and mutual respect, occur under conditions of overt economic warfare? The US position consistently portrays itself as an arbiter of international law while simultaneously violating core principles of national sovereignty
and free trade, which dates back to at least the 1980s with the downing of Iran Air Flight 655 in 1988, a civilian aircraft shot down by the USS Vincennes, killing all 290 passengers and crew, including 66 children. This policy of simultaneous engagement and strangulation is not novel. It mirrors the tactics deployed against Cuba for over 60 years, where humanitarian aid is weaponized and external