Who cares for the Iranian people?

Countries around the world are competing with each other in imposing new sanctions against Iran. While the Iranian people have not forgotten the bitter memory of the eight-year war with Iraq, masterminded and fostered by the United States and its European allies, new rounds of crippling sanctions directed against the most strategic industries of Iran came one after another in what is being claimed as an international effort to prevent Tehran from acquiring nuclear weapons.

Although the International Atomic Energy Agency and the G5+1 have so far failed to provide evidence to demonstrate Irans deviation from peaceful nuclear activities, the fourth round of the sanctions was agreed on June 9, 2010, targeting a number of Iranian companies and individuals who allegedly participate in Iran's nuclear and missile programme.

Iranians still remember the painful days of war with Iraq under the late dictator Saddam Hussein, armed and equipped by the US and 14 European countries. The First Persian Gulf War cost the lives of more than 500,000 Iranians and some US $500 billion damage on Iran.

On June 9, 1992, Ted Koppel reported on ABC's Nightline programme that Saddam Hussein received much of its financing, intelligence and military help from the United States and the administration of George H. Bush. In 1982, Iraq was removed from the US list of State Sponsors of Terrorism and this enabled the Reagan administration to transfer a huge amount of dual-use technology to Iraq.

According to a May 1994 report by the U.S. Senate Banking Committee, pathogenic (disease producing), toxigenic (poisonous), and other biological research materials were exported to Iraq during the eight-year war with Iran pursuant to application and licensing by the US Department of Commerce.

The United Kingdom, Soviet Union, Netherlands, Italy, France and Germany also played their respective role in helping Saddam to massacre the Iranian people. Britain was said to have exported thiodiglycol, a mustard gas precursor! , and th ionyl chloride, a nerve gas precursor, to Iraq in 1988 and 1989. France sold first-line Mirage F-1 fighter-bombers to Iraq, as well as providing Super Etendard attack aircraft.

Between 1977 and 1987, Paris contracted to sell a total of 133 Mirage F-1 fighters to Iraq. In 1984, Italy's state-owned Agusta helicopter manufacturer sold $164 million worth of helicopters to Iraq. In early 1987, Moscow delivered a squadron of twenty-four MiG-29 Fulcrums to Baghdad. The then Soviet Union also helped train Iraq's infantry and delivered a number of surface-to-air missiles, air-to-air missiles, helicopters and interceptors to Baghdad.

The war was claimed to be a counterbalance to post-Islamic Revolution Iran which was experiencing the first years of freedom from the monarchy led by the American-backed Shah. It was declared to be a battle against the newly-established government; however, it paralyzed the economy of the country, killed thousands of innocent civilians, immersed the nation into a long period of social crisis and aggravated the daily lives of ordinary people.

History is being repeated once again. Western leaders send sympathetic messages to the Iranian people and declare that they want the well-being of the Iranian nation. They say they understand the position of the Iranian people and assert that they want to empower the subjugated and oppressed Iranians.

In a March 2010 televised message, US president Barack Obama stated the willingness of his country to provide the Iranians with a more hopeful future. He said that his country believed in the dignity of every human being. He vowed the pursuance of diplomatic efforts to incorporate Iran into the international community and expressed hopes that his country can reach out to the Iranian people in peaceful, constructive ways.

However, the US and its European allies, with their past trajectory, are recurrently failing to practise what they preach. The financial sanctions which have been imposed on Iran by the UN Security Counc! il, US a nd EU tend to worsen the daily life of ordinary Iranians whose are dependent on revenues from the oil and gas industry.

Already stricken with the consequences of continued domestic failures in economy and growing inflation, the new sanctions will harm the Iranians by doubling the prices and reducing their purchasing power.

The new sanctions against Iran have nothing to do with the government of Iran which the western leaders are entangled in a tedious and uninteresting conflict with. These sanctions, and any kind of unpremeditated actions like this, will only injure the ordinary people of Iran who should suffer from the effects of power game between the governments.

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