Tweet
IS ARMENIA AMERICA'S ALLY OR IRAN'S?
Daily Caller
March 12 2015
by Dan Burton, Former Congressman
Even as events in the Ukraine unfold so tumultuously, a subtler but
comparably disturbing situation elsewhere in the former USSR threatens
to undermine Western interests there and throughout the Middle East.
Although widely assumed to be a solid ally, Armenia has by all
indications quietly moved toward a strategic rapprochement with Iran -
and, by extension, Russia - that for starters will help U.S.
adversaries circumvent the critical provisions of the Iran Sanctions
Act (ISA) and sanctions against Russia.
As a matter of sheer realpolitik, it's not hard to understand the
motives at play in Yereva, the Armenian capital city. Flash back to
the efforts of both the Clinton and the second Bush administrations
to use ISA sanctions as a way to interdict oil pipeline routes that
would have enriched Iran. What emerged as a result was an alternative
U.S.-approved route from Azerbaijan to Turkey.
But Azerbaijan is Armenia's direct economic and geopolitical antagonist
while there hasn't been much love lost between Armenia and Turkey
since the tragic events of 1915 under the Ottoman Empire, however
shrouded in time those events may be. In global politics, as in life,
my enemies' enemy often has certain charms. For Armenia, those charms
now entail stronger, more extensive economic relations with Iran. It
is certainly no secret that, for one, Armenia is Iran's biggest direct
gas customer, especially since May 2009 when Iran and Armenia launched
a trans-national gas pipeline built by Gazprom, the world's largest
extractor of natural gas based in and owned by - yes - Russia.
Further evidence of Armenian/Iranian friendship is plentiful. Both
Tehran and Yerevan have pushed hard for progress on the construction
of the Southern Armenia Railway, which will more closely link the
two countries. Meanwhile, in May 2014, Iran and Armenia increased
weekly flights between the two countries from three to 50. That's
not tourism. That's business.
The situation is yet more perilous. Armenia has reassured the West
that its banking controls are strong and that Iran cannot launder
money through its banks. According to U.S. officials, however, Iran
has easy access to Armenian banks operating in the Armenia-occupied
Nagorno-Karabakh territory whence Iran can draw on funds to expand
its nuclear and missile programs or, for that matter, continue to
subsidize terrorist organizations.
Even as events in the Ukraine unfold so tumultuously, a subtler but
comparably disturbing situation elsewhere in the former USSR threatens
to undermine Western interests there and throughout the Middle East.
Although widely assumed to be a solid ally, Armenia has by all
indications quietly moved toward a strategic rapprochement with Iran -
and, by extension, Russia - that for starters will help U.S.
adversaries circumvent the critical provisions of the Iran Sanctions
Act (ISA) and sanctions against Russia.
As a matter of sheer realpolitik, it's not hard to understand the
motives at play in Yereva, the Armenian capital city. Flash back to
the efforts of both the Clinton and the second Bush administrations
to use ISA sanctions as a way to interdict oil pipeline routes that
would have enriched Iran. What emerged as a result was an alternative
U.S.-approved route from Azerbaijan to Turkey.
But Azerbaijan is Armenia's direct economic and geopolitical antagonist
while there hasn't been much love lost between Armenia and Turkey
since the tragic events of 1915 under the Ottoman Empire, however
shrouded in time those events may be. In global politics, as in life,
my enemies' enemy often has certain charms. For Armenia, those charms
now entail stronger, more extensive economic relations with Iran. It
is certainly no secret that, for one, Armenia is Iran's biggest direct
gas customer, especially since May 2009 when Iran and Armenia launched
a trans-national gas pipeline built by Gazprom, the world's largest
extractor of natural gas based in and owned by - yes - Russia.
Further evidence of Armenian/Iranian friendship is plentiful. Both
Tehran and Yerevan have pushed hard for progress on the construction
of the Southern Armenia Railway, which will more closely link the
two countries. Meanwhile, in May 2014, Iran and Armenia increased
weekly flights between the two countries from three to 50. That's
not tourism. That's business.
The situation is yet more perilous. Armenia has reassured the West
that its banking controls are strong and that Iran cannot launder
money through its banks. According to U.S. officials, however, Iran
has easy access to Armenian banks operating in the Armenia-occupied
Nagorno-Karabakh territory whence Iran can draw on funds to expand
its nuclear and missile programs or, for that matter, continue to
subsidize terrorist organizations.
TalkMarkets If You Listen Carefully, The Bankers Are Actually Telling
Us What Is Going To Happ...TalkMarkets Undo Universities Academy
Probably The Best Job In The World...Universities Academy Undo Sniper
X Program The Internet Loophole That Made One Man a Millionaire!Sniper
X Program Undo by Taboolaby Taboola Sponsored LinksSponsored Links
Promoted LinksPromoted Links
In 2013, one Western UN diplomat identified Armenia's ACBA as "a bank
that has come up in connection with Iran." The former Soviet Republic
is a real plum for Tehran in any event since Armenia is a listed U.S.
ally and, as a former Soviet republic, purportedly wary of the Russian
bear. For America, that is very reassuring. For Iran, it's a ready-made
fifth column.
"The Iranian relationship with Armenia is driven by a shared sense of
isolation," says Richard Giragosian, director of the Yerevan-based
Regional Studies Center. "For Armenia, Iran offers an important
alternative to closed borders [with Turkey and Azerbaijan] and
unresolved conflict [of Nagorno-Karabakh with Azerbaijan] and tension
with its other neighbors, and offers an opportunity to overcome
Armenia's geographic isolation as a small landlocked state."
Then, of course, there's the Putin factor. When in January 2015,
Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif visited Armenia (with scant
media fanfare), he lauded Armenia's accession to the Russia-dominated
Eurasian Economic Union (EEU), citing the EEU as a platform for
"broader cooperation options to Iran, Armenia, and Russia." Earlier,
Iran's ambassador to Moscow, Mehdi Sanai, said that Tehran will
seriously look at signing a memorandum of understanding on trade with
the EEU. In fact, Sanai has publicly envisioned Iranian-Russian trade
jumping from the present annual $3-5 billion to $70 billion.
The geopolitical ramifications are obviously significant, especially as
Russia will now have more alternatives to soften the blow of Western
sanctions. But Russia has even more to gain than that.
To better assess the ominous signals that Zarif and Sanai are sending,
we need to look more closely at Russia's role in the region. Since
Armenian independence in 1991, Russia has served Yerevan - not as a
sword-rattling aggressor-in-waiting - but as a geopolitical protector.
When we combine that traditional role with the impact of the EEU and
the economic assets that it's already secured in Armenia, what's clear
is that Russia stands to be the key economic force in Armenia. Putin
thus has everything to gain by helping to buttress the burgeoning
Armenian/Iranian partnership. And we have everything to lose.
Happily, we need not underestimate current levels of concern
in the U.S. Congress. Recently, the Subcommittee on Terrorism,
Nonproliferation, and Trade of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs
held a hearing dubbed "State Sponsor of Terror: The Global Threat of
Iran." At that hearing, Representative Darrell Issa (R-CA) nailed it
when he raised "questions about Russia's involvement through Armenia in
the backdoor circumvention of the sanctions that are in place today,"
and that "Russia's involvement is making it clear [that] all they are
really doing is guaranteeing a slow march toward a nuclear Iran ... We
would be remiss if we did not ... recognize that all the way back in
the early 80s...President Ronald Reagan referred to an evil empire,
at that time the Soviet Union."
The placards of Politburo chieftains may be gone but the same
imperialist agenda remains. Today, Iran's partnership with Russia,
a fundamentally destabilizing force in world affairs, is aided and
abetted by Armenia's partnership with both members of that unholy
alliance.
Perhaps our "ally" in Yerevan needs to be reminded of the price that
small countries must ultimately pay for helping enemies of the US
circumvent sanctions.
Dan Burton is a former Member of Congress representing Indiana's
5th Congressional District. He served in Congress from 1983 until
2013 notably serving on the House Committee on Foreign Affairs and
Committee on Oversight and Government Reform.
http://dailycaller.com/2015/03/12/is-armenia-americas-ally-or-irans/
From: Baghdasarian
Daily Caller
March 12 2015
by Dan Burton, Former Congressman
Even as events in the Ukraine unfold so tumultuously, a subtler but
comparably disturbing situation elsewhere in the former USSR threatens
to undermine Western interests there and throughout the Middle East.
Although widely assumed to be a solid ally, Armenia has by all
indications quietly moved toward a strategic rapprochement with Iran -
and, by extension, Russia - that for starters will help U.S.
adversaries circumvent the critical provisions of the Iran Sanctions
Act (ISA) and sanctions against Russia.
As a matter of sheer realpolitik, it's not hard to understand the
motives at play in Yereva, the Armenian capital city. Flash back to
the efforts of both the Clinton and the second Bush administrations
to use ISA sanctions as a way to interdict oil pipeline routes that
would have enriched Iran. What emerged as a result was an alternative
U.S.-approved route from Azerbaijan to Turkey.
But Azerbaijan is Armenia's direct economic and geopolitical antagonist
while there hasn't been much love lost between Armenia and Turkey
since the tragic events of 1915 under the Ottoman Empire, however
shrouded in time those events may be. In global politics, as in life,
my enemies' enemy often has certain charms. For Armenia, those charms
now entail stronger, more extensive economic relations with Iran. It
is certainly no secret that, for one, Armenia is Iran's biggest direct
gas customer, especially since May 2009 when Iran and Armenia launched
a trans-national gas pipeline built by Gazprom, the world's largest
extractor of natural gas based in and owned by - yes - Russia.
Further evidence of Armenian/Iranian friendship is plentiful. Both
Tehran and Yerevan have pushed hard for progress on the construction
of the Southern Armenia Railway, which will more closely link the
two countries. Meanwhile, in May 2014, Iran and Armenia increased
weekly flights between the two countries from three to 50. That's
not tourism. That's business.
The situation is yet more perilous. Armenia has reassured the West
that its banking controls are strong and that Iran cannot launder
money through its banks. According to U.S. officials, however, Iran
has easy access to Armenian banks operating in the Armenia-occupied
Nagorno-Karabakh territory whence Iran can draw on funds to expand
its nuclear and missile programs or, for that matter, continue to
subsidize terrorist organizations.
Even as events in the Ukraine unfold so tumultuously, a subtler but
comparably disturbing situation elsewhere in the former USSR threatens
to undermine Western interests there and throughout the Middle East.
Although widely assumed to be a solid ally, Armenia has by all
indications quietly moved toward a strategic rapprochement with Iran -
and, by extension, Russia - that for starters will help U.S.
adversaries circumvent the critical provisions of the Iran Sanctions
Act (ISA) and sanctions against Russia.
As a matter of sheer realpolitik, it's not hard to understand the
motives at play in Yereva, the Armenian capital city. Flash back to
the efforts of both the Clinton and the second Bush administrations
to use ISA sanctions as a way to interdict oil pipeline routes that
would have enriched Iran. What emerged as a result was an alternative
U.S.-approved route from Azerbaijan to Turkey.
But Azerbaijan is Armenia's direct economic and geopolitical antagonist
while there hasn't been much love lost between Armenia and Turkey
since the tragic events of 1915 under the Ottoman Empire, however
shrouded in time those events may be. In global politics, as in life,
my enemies' enemy often has certain charms. For Armenia, those charms
now entail stronger, more extensive economic relations with Iran. It
is certainly no secret that, for one, Armenia is Iran's biggest direct
gas customer, especially since May 2009 when Iran and Armenia launched
a trans-national gas pipeline built by Gazprom, the world's largest
extractor of natural gas based in and owned by - yes - Russia.
Further evidence of Armenian/Iranian friendship is plentiful. Both
Tehran and Yerevan have pushed hard for progress on the construction
of the Southern Armenia Railway, which will more closely link the
two countries. Meanwhile, in May 2014, Iran and Armenia increased
weekly flights between the two countries from three to 50. That's
not tourism. That's business.
The situation is yet more perilous. Armenia has reassured the West
that its banking controls are strong and that Iran cannot launder
money through its banks. According to U.S. officials, however, Iran
has easy access to Armenian banks operating in the Armenia-occupied
Nagorno-Karabakh territory whence Iran can draw on funds to expand
its nuclear and missile programs or, for that matter, continue to
subsidize terrorist organizations.
TalkMarkets If You Listen Carefully, The Bankers Are Actually Telling
Us What Is Going To Happ...TalkMarkets Undo Universities Academy
Probably The Best Job In The World...Universities Academy Undo Sniper
X Program The Internet Loophole That Made One Man a Millionaire!Sniper
X Program Undo by Taboolaby Taboola Sponsored LinksSponsored Links
Promoted LinksPromoted Links
In 2013, one Western UN diplomat identified Armenia's ACBA as "a bank
that has come up in connection with Iran." The former Soviet Republic
is a real plum for Tehran in any event since Armenia is a listed U.S.
ally and, as a former Soviet republic, purportedly wary of the Russian
bear. For America, that is very reassuring. For Iran, it's a ready-made
fifth column.
"The Iranian relationship with Armenia is driven by a shared sense of
isolation," says Richard Giragosian, director of the Yerevan-based
Regional Studies Center. "For Armenia, Iran offers an important
alternative to closed borders [with Turkey and Azerbaijan] and
unresolved conflict [of Nagorno-Karabakh with Azerbaijan] and tension
with its other neighbors, and offers an opportunity to overcome
Armenia's geographic isolation as a small landlocked state."
Then, of course, there's the Putin factor. When in January 2015,
Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif visited Armenia (with scant
media fanfare), he lauded Armenia's accession to the Russia-dominated
Eurasian Economic Union (EEU), citing the EEU as a platform for
"broader cooperation options to Iran, Armenia, and Russia." Earlier,
Iran's ambassador to Moscow, Mehdi Sanai, said that Tehran will
seriously look at signing a memorandum of understanding on trade with
the EEU. In fact, Sanai has publicly envisioned Iranian-Russian trade
jumping from the present annual $3-5 billion to $70 billion.
The geopolitical ramifications are obviously significant, especially as
Russia will now have more alternatives to soften the blow of Western
sanctions. But Russia has even more to gain than that.
To better assess the ominous signals that Zarif and Sanai are sending,
we need to look more closely at Russia's role in the region. Since
Armenian independence in 1991, Russia has served Yerevan - not as a
sword-rattling aggressor-in-waiting - but as a geopolitical protector.
When we combine that traditional role with the impact of the EEU and
the economic assets that it's already secured in Armenia, what's clear
is that Russia stands to be the key economic force in Armenia. Putin
thus has everything to gain by helping to buttress the burgeoning
Armenian/Iranian partnership. And we have everything to lose.
Happily, we need not underestimate current levels of concern
in the U.S. Congress. Recently, the Subcommittee on Terrorism,
Nonproliferation, and Trade of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs
held a hearing dubbed "State Sponsor of Terror: The Global Threat of
Iran." At that hearing, Representative Darrell Issa (R-CA) nailed it
when he raised "questions about Russia's involvement through Armenia in
the backdoor circumvention of the sanctions that are in place today,"
and that "Russia's involvement is making it clear [that] all they are
really doing is guaranteeing a slow march toward a nuclear Iran ... We
would be remiss if we did not ... recognize that all the way back in
the early 80s...President Ronald Reagan referred to an evil empire,
at that time the Soviet Union."
The placards of Politburo chieftains may be gone but the same
imperialist agenda remains. Today, Iran's partnership with Russia,
a fundamentally destabilizing force in world affairs, is aided and
abetted by Armenia's partnership with both members of that unholy
alliance.
Perhaps our "ally" in Yerevan needs to be reminded of the price that
small countries must ultimately pay for helping enemies of the US
circumvent sanctions.
Dan Burton is a former Member of Congress representing Indiana's
5th Congressional District. He served in Congress from 1983 until
2013 notably serving on the House Committee on Foreign Affairs and
Committee on Oversight and Government Reform.
http://dailycaller.com/2015/03/12/is-armenia-americas-ally-or-irans/
From: Baghdasarian