‘US Congress beholden to Israel lobby’

Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei has downplayed the US-led sanctions against Iran, saying that the Iranian nation will overcome problems as always.

The Leader stressed that the Iranian nation will emerge victorious in the battle as it has overcome much bigger problems over the past 33 years.

In this edition of news analysis we will discuss the issue of the unilateral US sanctions on Iran and its effects on the lives of the Iranian people.

Press TV has conducted an interview with Wayne Madsen, investigative journalist from Tampa, Florida to shed more light on the issue at hand.

He is joined by two additional guests: Kaveh Afrasiabi, author and political scientist from Boston, and Christopher Walker, political commentator from London.

What follows is an approximate transcription of the interview.

Press TV: Let us reflect on some of the statements that have drawn up. For example Republican Brad Sherman who represents California, this is on a resolution that was that was authorized, HR 1905 is the number.

He said that critics of the sanctions argue that these measures will hurt the Iranian people. Quite frankly we need to do just that.

Senator Mark Kirk representing Illinois: Sanctions are meant to cause so much suffering among ordinary Iranians that they will be forced to rise up against the regime and if that does not work we will go to war with Iran.

So clearly you have a representation there. Is that the sentiment, generally speaking, of these senators amongst a host of other US politicians in the US?

Madsen: Well, it is the sentiment of what we could call the vocal minority here in the United States.

Here in the state of Florida we have a vocal minority. In Miami it has been arguing for punishing sanctions against the people of Cuba for the last 50 years or so.

They have not really worked and now we have this pro-Israeli vocal minority that is arguing for sanctions against Iran and they will not work.

But what I would suggest is these sanctions are right on the playbook of regime change, practiced by Hillary Clinton and George Soros, who supports the Obama administration, and it is right here in this book called From Dictatorship to Democracy by Gene Sharp.

Gene Sharp is the author of how to conduct regime changes and sanctions are part of his playbook. Setting up parallel governments is part of his playbook and the recent delisting of the MEK, the Mujahedin-e Khalq Organization by the State Department is a clear indication that it is not going to just start with sanctions; that there is going to obviously be a recognition of an Iranian government in exile at sometime in the near future, according to Gene Sharp’s playbook.

Press TV: What do you think [about what the previous guest stated]? I mean really this most recent round that started a few months back. I cannot forget Timothy Geithner going to China, asking China to basically not buy Iranian oil, telling them hurt your economy but follow us with these sanctions when the issue of sanctions becomes politicized for countries to follow, with the US being in the lead and in turn hurt their economy. It does not make that much sense, does it?

Madsen: It does not make any sense and I just returned from China and after seeing all the automobiles on the road in China and the burgeoning middle class, I do not think that China is going to stop buying Iranian oil and I do not think that they are going to listen to Mr. Geithner or our people, about applying sanctions against Iran.

As a matter of fact I think that India and China and Russia have all pretty much stated that they are not interested in punitive sanctions against Iran.

But the United States still thinks of itself as the world’s only superpower and I think that is concept that President Obama is going to have to stop thinking along these terms. Mitt Romney, on the other hand, does think in these terms, but the United States cannot call these sanctions shots anymore.

They were totally unsuccessful against Cuba and we have seen European countries maintain good economic relations with that country, and I do not think that we are going to see anything in the way of much support except from the Europeans who are much more wedded to the United States than Russia, China and India.

I do not think we are going to see those particular countries follow the US lead on sanctions.

Press TV: This is not about Iran’s nuclear file. This is about Iran being a power. It is about Iran standing up to the West and resisting its hegemony and policies. What do you think?

Madsen: Well, absolutely. I think that what we see here is the Obama administration following a policy of trying to effect changes in regimes, whether it is done through subterfuge or more openly through military intervention as we saw in Libya.

We saw an attempt to try to give the opposition candidate in Venezuela lots of money and it failed. And in Iran it is the sanctions.

But it is also supporting the MEK and I think that this is sort of a hybrid move by the US government to seek a government change in Iran.

And the nuclear issue is just a side issue and unfortunately with the way the Congress is beholden to the Israeli lobby, you mentioned Brad Sherman, they want to punish the Iranian people and of course the net result of this, they do not care if a plane crashes because of faulty parts or so many die in hospital because they cannot get the right kind of medication.

This is the extreme nature of the lobby that governs the Congress in Washington. But the nuclear issue is being used as a catalyst to effect this regime change.

MY/HSN