Last week, Britain has decided to cut all financial relations with Iran over some concerns pertaining to Iran’s nuclear program. Because of this, all British credit and financial institutions were told to end their business ties and transactions with all Iranian banks, their branches and subsidiaries by Monday the 28th. The International Atomic Energy Agency or the IAEA reported concerns about the possible military dimensions of Iran’s nuclear program which led Britain to cut all financial ties with Iran. Iran resisted allegations from the IAEA and declared that their nuclear program was peaceful and alleged that the U.N. watchdog’s report was so-called “unbalanced” and “politically motivated.”
The disruption of the financial tie between Britain and Iran outraged some college students who gathered near the British embassy and led a protest which was peaceful at first but became outrageous as people replaced the British flag with an Iranian flag. Some people also stoned the windows of the embassy as others reached the Gholhak Garden, which was the diplomatic compound of the British embassy. In other words, the Gholhak Garden is basically the area in northern Tehran where British diplomats and their families, and Iranian families who work for the British embassy live.
Britain condemned Iran for allowing these Iranian students or rioters to be able to storm the British embassy. David Cameron, Prime Minister of Britain said that Iranian security forces are responsible for guarding the British embassy under international law and that the failure of the Iranian government to be able to defend the staff and the property was a disgrace. He also demanded that Iran must immediately insure the safety of all British personnel and also warning the Iranian government that they must be aware that there will be serious consequences for failing to protect the staff of the embassy.
Do you think that Britain was right to cut all financial ties with Iran even though Iran clearly defied the fact that their nuclear program was not harmful in any way?
http://www.cnn.com/2011/11/29/world/meast/iran-demonstrations/index.html?hpt=hp_t2
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ReplyDeleteI think that Britain has the right to cut financial relations with Iran if they feel necessary, but I don’t think it is going to change the behavior of Iran’s leaders. Economic coercion is most successful when they are unable to find a substitute for the sanctioned goods or activity. For example, the US cut their sugar quota to Cuba as punishment, but Cuba was able to get the shortage in sugar from the Soviet Union. If more Countries come forward to place similar sanction then I think it would be more likely there would be a favorable change in behavior.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Elizabeth that Britain did have the right to end their financial relationship, just as any nation has the right to alter any partnership with another country. The world will also have to wait to see the reactions of other UN members to judge how effective the sanctions will actually be. I do think that any severance of diplomatic ties is regrettable, as diplomacy can act as preventive measure of any armed (nuclear?) conflict. It seems a little unsettling given the precarious state of the European economy to have possible major disruptions in the near future. Of course equally threatening is antagonistic state with a potential nuclear-backed military program like Iran.
ReplyDeleteWhile I agree with Marlee concerning the importance of diplomacy, the importance of non-proliferation cannot be stressed enough. I would guess that these sanctions from England are the first of a series of increased sanctions by other UN members including the US. NPR had a great discussion the other day about the possibility of the US actually severing all banking ties with Iran through sanctions, which would mean all oil from Iran will be unavailable to the US market as well as other global markets that interact with the US banking system. This sort of step will certainly be the kind of reckoning force necessary to make Iran reassess it's priorities, but on the other hand (as Marlee pointed out) this could lead to oil price spikes in an already teetering European economy. In my opinion I think the US should go through with it because realistically Saudi Arabia has reserves of oil intended to counter balance any fluctuations in the market (like the ones these sanctions would induce), but with so much unrest going on in middle-eastern oil producing countries who know what the right choice will be.
ReplyDeleteIt seems absurd that the British Embassy be stormed by a bunch of students who were protesting. The Iranian security forces should have been doing their jobs and keeping the protestors out. The safety of the British embassy personnel should have never been called into question. Since this is a serious lack of action on behalf of Iran, I feel as if the United Kingdom has the right to take somewhat serious action against Iran. The move to cut all financial ties to Iran seems to be a good move. Yes Europe’s economy is teetering on the edge of fail, but it is more beneficial I think to cut ties with a country that is unstable. Plus, Iran does not want British influence if they are voting to expel the ambassador.
ReplyDeleteBritain did have justification in sanctioning oil from Iran. I agree with John that the importance of non-proliferation cannot be stressed enough. The EU members need to be putting that stress more firmly on Iran. Britain has the power to alter their agreement with Iran and they did so. However, I must bring up that the UN's method of dealing with Iran, with a "rebuke" was so very helpful. Firmer measures like the US in sanctioning their oil will cause a stir and the reserves from Saudi Arabia will be helpful. But Britain will most likely feel the sanctions more so than Iran financially.
ReplyDeleteThe British government has every right to end its financial ties with Iran if they believe that the Iranian government’s nuclear program is a cause of worry. The way that the situation at the British embassy was handled by the Iranian government is appalling. If under international law, it is the Iranian’s government’s duty to protect the embassy’s that are established in their country, they should have stopped the college student’s violent protest outside the British embassy. Also, I think it was very appropriate for the Prime Minister to warn the Iranian government that if they do not continue to protect the embassy that there would be consequences.
ReplyDeleteBritain had every right to cut ties with Iran. Nuclear power is one of the controversial subjects on the international stage because while it is an invaluable power source, if weaponized, it would completely changes the way nations look at each other. It's a complete game changer on the international forum, but not in a good way; particularly in respect to Iran. If Iran were to develop a nuclear warhead, it would create a cold war-esque tension with Israel; and all of the western world would side behind Israel. It would prove to be a fatal mistake for Iran either economically as they would face embargos from every major trade industry they rely or military wise as they would not have the capabilities to combat all the forces that would support Israel.
ReplyDeleteThe British government has the right to penalize the Iranian government for continuing to develop their nuclear program. Then the Iranian military basically allows outraged college students to raid the British embassy and place all British personnel in jeopardy. Why would Britain support the development of yet another nuclear program? Any more nuclear programs place a threat on international peace and cooperation. A government cannot develop nuclear weapons and say it is for peace; these weapons are the complete opposition of peace. Innocent British people were placed in peril because the British government cut economic ties with Iran. The Iranian military defied International laws by not defending the British embassy. Iran is not looking so peaceful by defying International laws.
ReplyDeleteIf you go to a bank and ask for a loan, you can't say "I'm going to use this money to pay for my mortgage" and then do something completely different, even illegal. The bank would not be happy and would probably cut all financial ties. Therefore, Britain has every right to cut financial ties with Iran. I think the protests are rational though; if this happened in the US , people would be going crazy. I think it's important to put these things into perspective. However, I think the Iranian army needs to control these protestors in order to prevent an all out uprising.
ReplyDeleteI believe that Britain had every right to cut financial ties with Iran because of concern with Iran’s nuclear program. Iran’s nuclear program has been a major for many countries for a long time and the longer that Iran continues to pursue a nuclear weapons, the worse its relationships with other countries will become. This decision gave no right to rioters to go throw stones in the window of the embassy. People could have been hurt by such an attack and the already strained relationship between Britain and Iran will become increasingly worse. This might hurt Britain financially but I believe that it in the best interest to cut ties with Iran to possibly stop their pursuit of a nuclear weapon.
ReplyDeleteI agree with all of the points made above in that Britain has the right to end ties with a group if their own financial stability, which is already in crisis, could somewhat be damaged by the other group. British leaders must do what they feel is best to protect their nation's economy and if cutting off financial ties with Iran due to the questionability of their nuclear program then that is what must happen. The rioters posed a small, but apparent threat to the British ambassadors and their families. If the Iranian security would allow this to happen, even if efforts to subdue it were made, then that questions the alliance Iran feels toward Britain. I belief that their decisions were valid in cutting off ties in an effort to keep their country safe.
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