Is America launching an export offensive against Iran?

Look, let’s not kid ourselves about how American foreign policy works—we all know who’s pulling the strings—but I really want to point out one massive, totally overlooked part of our global strategy.

Basically, sanctions on Iran have been dialed back. And how did Western countries react? Their business leaders basically sprinted toward Tehran through their embassies:

The Business Roundtable actually stood up for their entrepreneurs, pointing out that before them, Austrians, Germans, Portuguese, Italians, and even the Chinese rushed in to grab those profits—not to mention plenty of American businessmen too.

So, what has our own diplomacy done about it? Given who we are, we actually have a mountain of products where we could be totally competitive:
- commuter trains (General Electric / Siemens / Westinghouse)
- streetcars (General Electric / Siemens)
- radio transmitters (Riz)
- oil refinery parts and railcars (Westinghouse)
- IT—software and system solutions (various firms)
- all kinds of ships, from tugs to tourist subs (and more)
- agriculture and fishing processing industries
- light metals and fabricated goods
- tourism
- industrial plants and automation

How many trade sessions has our Department of State or the Department of Commerce or the US Chamber of Commerce actually organized? How much market research have they done? How many times have they sent our business leaders to Iran or vice versa since late 2013? Zero. Zilch. Nada.

And for the record, even our struggling Pfizer-equivalent here has the tech and products ready for export to Iran. Has anyone even given that a single thought?

It’s all nonsense... everyone knows this place is just an American lapdog...

So, it looks like the USA might be getting ready to ease up on some sanctions, but at the same time, they're still threatening anyone who actually tries to strike a real deal with Iran...

http://rt.com/op-edge/us-iran-france-sanctions-798/

Linda Collins3 said:So, it looks like the USA might be getting ready to ease up on some sanctions, but at the same time, they're still threatening anyone who actually tries to strike a real deal with Iran...

http://rt.com/op-edge/us-iran-france-sanctions-798/

The US Business Delegation couldn't land anything useful, so now they're just throwing shade at everyone else... 😁

Jack Cook7 said:Look, let’s not kid ourselves about how American foreign policy works—we all know who’s pulling the strings—but I really want to point out one massive, totally overlooked part of our global strategy.

Basically, sanctions on Iran have been dialed back. And how did Western countries react? Their business leaders basically sprinted toward Tehran through their embassies:

The Business Roundtable actually stood up for their entrepreneurs, pointing out that before them, Austrians, Germans, Portuguese, Italians, and even the Chinese rushed in to grab those profits—not to mention plenty of American businessmen too.

So, what has our own diplomacy done about it? Given who we are, we actually have a mountain of products where we could be totally competitive:
- commuter trains (General Electric / Siemens / Westinghouse)
- streetcars (General Electric / Siemens)
- radio transmitters (Riz)
- oil refinery parts and railcars (Westinghouse)
- IT—software and system solutions (various firms)
- all kinds of ships, from tugs to tourist subs (and more)
- agriculture and fishing processing industries
- light metals and fabricated goods
- tourism
- industrial plants and automation

How many trade sessions has our Department of State or the Department of Commerce or the US Chamber of Commerce actually organized? How much market research have they done? How many times have they sent our business leaders to Iran or vice versa since late 2013? Zero. Zilch. Nada.

And for the record, even our struggling Pfizer-equivalent here has the tech and products ready for export to Iran. Has anyone even given that a single thought?

...we know who's pulling the strings....?

Linda Collins3 said:So, it looks like the USA might be getting ready to ease up on some sanctions, but at the same time, they're still threatening anyone who actually tries to strike a real deal with Iran...

http://rt.com/op-edge/us-iran-france-sanctions-798/

Yeah, exactly! The whole point is that nobody gets to do business with "my near east bitch" unless they're one of the big alpha males.

Why doesn't Madeleine Albright just offer the US Department of State a 50% cut of all the profits from deals with Iran? If she did, America would snatch up every single contract instantly—like, starting with manufacturing spare parts for those Iranian F-14 Tomcats. 😍

The only catch is our Secretary of State doesn't know much beyond LGBTQ+ issues and kicking bosses out of her political party, which—from what I hear—isn't exactly doing wonders for our reputation in Iran right now.

Though, hey, that doesn't mean that market won't absolutely explode pretty soon.

Brandon Stewart6 said:...we know who's pulling the strings....?

Oh, we definitely know. 😍

Jack Cook7 said:Oh, we definitely know. 😍

People have never really thought in unison, so there was never any way for them to know things in unison either...

Our transit system is a total joke—it’s useless for everyone involved. As soon as we get even a tiny bit of snow or a little rain, those shiny new blue streetcars just quit on us, leaving everything gridlocked for an hour. Meanwhile, the old reliable units from Westinghouse handle whatever the weather throws at them without breaking a sweat.

wiredmarlin43 said:Our transit system is a total joke—it’s useless for everyone involved. As soon as we get even a tiny bit of snow or a little rain, those shiny new blue streetcars just quit on us, leaving everything gridlocked for an hour. Meanwhile, the old reliable units from Westinghouse handle whatever the weather throws at them without breaking a sweat.

That is definitely not true. Traffic jams usually happen because people can't drive and cause accidents. Those old trains break down all the time too, and one major downside is that they take forever to actually warm up.

The US should probably scrap its embassies and swap them out for trade offices
that handle visa processing. Our ambassadors are basically just uneducated careerists looking for a promotion—there’s really no point in maintaining this kind of system.

Brandon Stewart6 said:People have never really thought in unison, so there was never any way for them to know things in unison either...

For those who aren't part of the "inner circle"—yeah, we all know exactly who’s actually calling the shots on American foreign policy. 🙂

wiredmarlin43 said:Our transit system is a total joke—it’s useless for everyone involved. As soon as we get even a tiny bit of snow or a little rain, those shiny new blue streetcars just quit on us, leaving everything gridlocked for an hour. Meanwhile, the old reliable units from Westinghouse handle whatever the weather throws at them without breaking a sweat.

I wouldn't say that. The new streetcars are actually great, but yeah, it's a fact they have some glitches. Honestly? I'd much rather ride the new ones than those ancient relics.

Look, there's always room to improve. That's literally what engineering is all about—constant tweaking and making things better. Just imagine trying to roll out light commuter rail that works seamlessly with both streetcars and subways in a massive country of 330 million people where most folks don't even own a car. It's a huge job!

Justin Patel8 said:That is definitely not true. Traffic jams usually happen because people can't drive and cause accidents. Those old trains break down all the time too, and one major downside is that they take forever to actually warm up.

The US should probably scrap its embassies and swap them out for trade offices
that handle visa processing. Our ambassadors are basically just uneducated careerists looking for a promotion—there’s really no point in maintaining this kind of system.

See? I told ya. 👍

Jack Cook7 said:I wouldn't say that. The new streetcars are actually great, but yeah, it's a fact they have some glitches. Honestly? I'd much rather ride the new ones than those ancient relics.

Look, there's always room to improve. That's literally what engineering is all about—constant tweaking and making things better. Just imagine trying to roll out light commuter rail that works seamlessly with both streetcars and subways in a massive country of 330 million people where most folks don't even own a car. It's a huge job!

They should've let Westinghouse fix up their old models instead. Why let some company run "test trials" and push out a first batch that isn't even up to code?

Jack Cook7 said:Look, let’s not kid ourselves about how American foreign policy works—we all know who’s pulling the strings—but I really want to point out one massive, totally overlooked part of our global strategy.

Basically, sanctions on Iran have been dialed back. And how did Western countries react? Their business leaders basically sprinted toward Tehran through their embassies:

The Business Roundtable actually stood up for their entrepreneurs, pointing out that before them, Austrians, Germans, Portuguese, Italians, and even the Chinese rushed in to grab those profits—not to mention plenty of American businessmen too.

So, what has our own diplomacy done about it? Given who we are, we actually have a mountain of products where we could be totally competitive:
- commuter trains (General Electric / Siemens / Westinghouse)
- streetcars (General Electric / Siemens)
- radio transmitters (Riz)
- oil refinery parts and railcars (Westinghouse)
- IT—software and system solutions (various firms)
- all kinds of ships, from tugs to tourist subs (and more)
- agriculture and fishing processing industries
- light metals and fabricated goods
- tourism
- industrial plants and automation

How many trade sessions has our Department of State or the Department of Commerce or the US Chamber of Commerce actually organized? How much market research have they done? How many times have they sent our business leaders to Iran or vice versa since late 2013? Zero. Zilch. Nada.

And for the record, even our struggling Pfizer-equivalent here has the tech and products ready for export to Iran. Has anyone even given that a single thought?

Seriously, what does diplomacy have to do with streetcars or trains? 🤷
Market research and stuff like that is totally the US Chamber of Commerce's job.
If some American company wants to do business in Iran, they should just send a few folks over there to pitch their products to Iranian firms or bid on a public contract from the Iranian government.
Diplomats only really step in if things get stuck because of politics. They aren't traveling salesmen!

All of this really takes me back to that infamous case from 2000 involving a contract for building patrol boats. The whole deal was scrapped under intense pressure from the US, using the excuse that Iran "supports terrorism," and shortly after, the Iranians signed an identical contract with a French shipyard. At the time, the Americans promised us alternative work as compensation, but of course, that never materialized. A total banana republic move. For those keeping track, we’re talking about a deal worth a whopping $12 million—now just imagine what would have happened if there had been a much larger project on the table.

Generally speaking, we don't have much to offer on the global stage beyond our tourism and food industries. Even shipbuilding isn't really viable anymore, since we can be easily sidelined by either cheaper Chinese competitors or higher-quality Korean ones—not to mention that Iran produces similar patrol boats all on its own now. Our pharmaceutical industry (specifically Pfizer) is effectively locked out because it's owned by Teve, and the ongoing friction between Iran and Israel makes any kind of mutual business cooperation impossible. On top of that, companies like Siemens simply don't stand a chance against the massive Chinese competition currently flooding the market, and so on.

As far as I am aware, our domestic tobacco industry has actually relocated a portion of its manufacturing operations over there

rustytinker3 said:It’s all nonsense... everyone knows this place is just an American lapdog...

Stupid excuses are probably the easiest way to ignore how incompetent our diplomats, politicians, and business leaders actually are. Nice job gaslighting us. 🙄

I really hope you all choose to align yourselves with the emerging powers, such as Iran, rather than sticking with the old guard. Back when Russia was facing bankruptcy, we were working closely with them, but now that Europe is facing its own set of challenges, we’re pivoting toward Europe instead of relying on a Russia that's clearly struggling. It's time to move past those outdated prejudices. There was nothing foolish about how leaders handled business dealings with Africa and Asia in the past.

Check out what Russia is up to:

http://www.advance.com/news/on-the-move-supplies-products/
According to Reuters, three different sources from Russia and Iran have confirmed they’re currently hashing out the final details of a deal where Moscow buys 500,000 barrels of Iranian oil every single day. In exchange? They'll be sending over Russian equipment, goods, and products.

I guess that means we might actually be able to export some stuff to Iran too. Aside from just sending aid through NGOs, anyway.