"Both China and Russia know that America will have to respond when Iran blocks the straits of Hormuz"
How rediculous....
This is the pervasive view in the western media. But western journalists are lazy and merely act as a conduit for British & US propaganda. There is very little I can do to counter that in the limited space available, but let me mention a few facts generally ignored by our contemptible and agenda pushing 'western media'.
It suits the west to demonise Ahmadinejad and pretend he controls foreign policy ~ but that is not the case and I think it needs pointing out. For geopolitical, oil, reasons it is necessary for Washington to demonise Iran. (this basically because Iran is not under the control of the US and it has the audacity to have oil). In the west , any wild statement by president Ahmadinejad is circulated in headlines, dubiously translated. But Ahmadinejad has no control over foreign policy, which is in the hands of his superiors, the Supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. The US-UK media tend to ignore Khamenei's statments especially if they are conciliatory. It's widely reported when Ahmadinejad says Israel shouldn't exist (deliberately mistranslated as "wiped out" but there is silence when Khamenei says that Iran supports the Arab League position on Israel-Palestine, calling for normalisation of relations with Israel if it accepts the international consensus of a two state settlement. Many things which might have a bearing on Iranian attitudes are hardly mentioned in the western media. such as the covert war being conducted be the US-Iseal (and presumably the UK) inside Iran. From 2004-2006 Iran agreed to suspend all Uranium enrichment (even though everyone agrees they're legally entitled to do it), that was in agreement with the EU. In return the EU was to provide full guarantees on security issues - that meant getting the United States to call off its threats to attack and destroy Iran. The EU couldn't live up to its side of the deal, it couldn't get the United States to stop, so the Iranians also pulled out and returned to Uranium enrichment.
ElBaradei proposed a few years ago that no state be allowed to develop weapons grade material - all high enrichment should be done by an international agency to which countries must apply if they want high grade material. Only one country formerly agreed to ElBaradei's proposal. That counry is Iran...
Whats more, when it comes to the international Fissban treaty, which bans the production of fissile materials except under international control, the US has been strongly opposed to any verifiable treaty and it voted against it 147 to 1 (US being the 1).
It looks increasingly like Iran is being subjected to a barrage of propaganda and lies, designed to soften up gullible western public opinion for a new middle east war.
In charge of foreign policy and the military Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said, "We have no problem with the world. We are not a threat whatsoever to the world and the world knows it. We will never start a war. We have no intention of going to war with any state".
Clearly it's Irans lack of belligerence which is the greatest threat, since it robs the west of an excuse to invade. Yet Iran itself can, and is, threatened with impunity - but you're not supposed to notice that, we're allowed to behave like that. Why would Iran want a bomb? Ahmadinejad has repeatedly quoted founding father Khomeini's assertion that nuclear weapons are "un-Islamic".
Supreme Leader Khamenei issued a fatwa against them in 2004. Subsequently he declared "developing, producing or stockpiling nuclear weapons is forbidden under Islam". Why would a regime which gets its legitimacy from its fidelity to Islam, keep reminding its people of the Islamic position on nukes, if it intendes to develope them? Yet Washington has repeatedly misrepresented and distorted the IAEA reports and even drew direct criticism from the IAEA for doing so - all ignored in the western media. I just can't believe we are being driven to war on a lie for a second time....
Peace
Ios