Iran Condemns UNSC Sanctions as 'Worthless'

I. Iran Condemns UNSC Sanctions Resolution as ‘Worthless’ Jerusalem Post, March 4, 2008 http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1204546397819&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull

II. On March 3, 2008, the United Nations put forth another set of sanctions towards Iran. Sanctions are restrictions to the country in order for them to stop something they are doing. Sanctions in a way are like punishments. In this case, Iran has been enriching uranium, a key asset to a nuclear weapon. In order to put a halt to the production process, The UN has already given the country two other sanctions. In this round of sanctions, Iran is now banned from trading goods that have both civilian and military uses, the first time this has been used. All shipments of traded goods to and from Iran will be inspected. Also, the assets from twelve companies and a dozen individuals who help support the nuclear program. What shocks readers the most, is Iran’s response. Instead of working toward a resolution as intended, Iranian spokesman, Mohammad Ali Hosseini says that the sanctions were “completely biased,” “politically motivated”, and “worthless.” Does this mean Iran will continue with its nuclear research?

III. A. The AP theme this article relates to is Impact of technology, economics, and demography on people and the environment. Iran and the worlds new technology is nuclear technology. Its uses are both good and evil, but can strongly impact the world as we know it. If Iran develops this technology and creates a weapon, it can destroy the world. All countries have become frightened and the conflict has heightened to an extent where we are cutting off a countries trade in order to cease advancement in technology.

B. In the past few years, Iran has begun to develop nuclear plants and has given other countries a sense of fear. Although the initial purposes for this development were to supply energy to the powerless people of Iran, many others see it as an opportunity to create nuclear weapons and use them against their enemies. The leader of this country, Ayatollah Khomeini, is very anti-Semitic, and Anti-American. Americans and Israelis especially fear these “weapons” could be used against them.

C. The author of this article, although unnamed, appears to be a Jew from Israel. He or she is not an insider to this issue.

D. The article should be approached with caution when reading because the author, an Israeli and Jew seems to be against the country of Iran. The Israeli’s and Jews have been in conflict with Iran since the leader, Ayatollah Khomeini’s rise to power. The Ayatollah wishes to destroy Israel and is antiemetic. Hence, Israelis have a tendency to dislike the Iranians. First of all, this article was found under the tab, “The Iranian Threat”, therefore, he or she finds Iranians to be threatening. Next, in the article’s title, the author puts the phrase “worthless” in quotes, signifying that the Iranians opinions of the sanctions as worthless are very wrong. He also criticizes the idea that Iran thinks the UN is biased.

E. A helpful source I would like to hear from is the Iranians developing this technology. I would truly like to hear the purposes of this uranium enrichment, and why it could actually help or harm the world. Then we would be able to truly see if the sanctions are necessary.

F. In my opinion, this article brings about a lot of confusion. First of all, why would the world ban against one countries development of nuclear technology, when one, we do not know if they are planning to create a weapon, and two, if other countries such as the U.S. could develop. Unfortunately though, I am a little biased towards the country to not develop these weapons because I am a Jew, and also know that Khomeini is severely anti western. If he chooses to make a weapon with this technology, I would be very scared. I also think that maybe the sanctions are for the best if the United Nations agreed it would be best for the world. I think that if they do not listen to these sanctions, they should become more severe.