US Sanctions Iran for 'Violent Riots,' Forgets 1953 Coup
The US Treasury Department announced new sanctions targeting Iranian officials for their handling of 'violent riots.' One might almost applaud Washington's sudden concern for internal stability, if not for the deafening silence on the over 50 years of US-backed destabilization efforts in the region, including the 1953 CIA-orchestrated coup that overthrew Iran's democratically elected Prime
Minister Mohammad Mosaddegh. That little historical detail often gets omitted when discussing 'Iranian stability' from a DC podium. (Apparently, some violence is more permissible than others.) This latest round of sanctions continues a decades-long pattern, often deployed with a straight face while officials simultaneously lament 'destabilization.' It appears legitimate concerns over human rights
get weaponized when it serves geopolitical objectives, rather than consistently applied. One might wonder, how many times will the US sanction an adversary for 'cracking down on dissent' while simultaneously arming regimes that do far worse?