Michael Ramirez for August 30, 2019

But unlike the cash deal, this was not U.S. money. It was Iran’s money, frozen in international financial institutions around the world because of sanctions intended to curb Iran’s nuclear ambitions. For instance, many of the funds were held in banks in Asia, including China and India, as well as Turkey. Many of the countries received waivers to buy Iranian oil and gas during the sanctions but placed the payments in escrow-style accounts that remained off-limits to Iran. The Islamic Republic also transferred assets to Asian banks from Europe in anticipation of financial sanctions.

On top of that, Trump’s repeated use of the $150 billion figure is off-base. That was an upper-range estimate, but the Treasury Department said much of it was not liquid. Once Iran fulfills other obligations, it would have about $55 billion left, Treasury said.

“Estimates of total Central Bank of Iran (CBI) foreign exchange assets worldwide are in the range of $100 [billion] to $125 billion,” Adam J. Szubin, acting Treasury undersecretary for terrorism and financial intelligence, told Congress in 2015. “Our assessment is that Iran’s usable liquid assets after sanctions relief will be much lower, at a little more than $50 billion. The other $50-70 billion of total CBI foreign exchange assets are either obligated in illiquid projects (such as over 50 projects with China) that cannot be monetized quickly, if at all, or are composed of outstanding loans to Iranian entities that cannot repay them. These assets would not become accessible following sanctions relief.”

For its part, the Central Bank of Iran said the number was actually $32 billion, not $55 billion.

Nader Habibi, a professor of economics at Brandeis University’s Crown Center for Middle East Studies, did his own calculation of Iran’s frozen assets in 2015. He noted that $10 billion was in Iraqi banks and could not be recovered quickly and that nearly $25 billion was deposited in Chinese banks as collateral for several Chinese in

Free your mind. Your a#$ will follow

Only an idiot would draw that comparison.

And only an *IDIOT * couldn’t UNDERSTAND !

Exactly! however, Iran, NK never play by the rules….I would sanction them till they can’t make a move!

It was a multinational deal and as usual Mr. Ramirez only recognizes USA and ignores the rest of the world.

Mr. Ramirez, I think having this forum for your strip gives you have an obligation to at least have the facts right, and to not repeat false nonsense.

You’re failing.

Why is anyone giving Bolton credit for a brain?

Politics is the art of having the truth tell lies in your favor. The new GOP under Trump no longer has need of starting with the truth for their base prefers the lies.

The Us never gave Iran a cent. All we did is release their own money that had been frozen.

So instead of them having low enrichment processors, overseen by the UN inspectors Bolton gives them an option keep the sanctions and create nuclear weapons. Great John. What is our next move? Let the Saudis declare war on Iran and insist that our deal with them (The Saudis) requires us to join them?

Just what Bolton wants, American Troops killing Muslims under the moral guide of unpopular Saudi Crown Prince.

Great Plan.

Sort of like the idiot who rewards Russia for its wrong doing and punishes our allies?

Iran did play by the rules.

Even Trump’s own intelligence agencies – headed by his personal appointee Dan Coats – say so.

fusilier

James 2:24

So many lies…

Mr. Ramirez, do you realize that you are hurting your cause more than helping it?

Mike – What’s your point? You know the truth, you know this toon is bunk.

Iran was actually complying with the Deal. Now they are moving toward weapons grade Uranium. Or in Ramirez’ view “a victory”. Either way, Trump has come up with nothing better.

Of course, Obama did none of that listed. Sanctions were still in place after not only meeting, but signing an agreement to halt Iran’s pursuit to make nuclear weapons. It was in all the papers, including the European ones who were supporters of the U.S. led deal.

$1.8 billion in cash really sticks in conservative’s minds. That’s because they refuse to accept that the money was a return of Iran’s assets by President Carter in 1979. The international court had said they would rule to return the money. Iran wanted all that plus the interest earned since 1979. Obama refused, and all that interest went into the U.S. treasury.

Odd how Obama haters can only lie and tell half-truths to make a point at all.

Bolton: “Only an idiot would agree to that!”

Trump: “Where do I sign?”

Ha! I knew it! Even though Trump did it, it’s still Obama’s fault.

Should have known….

Again, Ramirez proudly shows his geopolitical ignorance!

The multinational agreement was, by all accounts, successful in keeping Iran from building nukes. Which was the whole point of the exercise. So Ramirez is either ignorant of this basic fact, or deliberately lying. The rest is gibberish.

Ramirez’s boss is Sheldon Adelson. He owns what right wing used to call a morally questionable business. He owns casinos and the Las Vegas Daily Rag.

Ramirez still believes that the invasion of Iraq was the best thing that ever happened in the middle east, and that we were welcomed as liberators.

.

Trump Disciple analysis skills.

Ramirez = silly…

There’s the truth, and then there is the Ramirez version of events. Two wildly different perspectives.

Come on Michael, you know that the was Iran’s money to begin with so cut the crap.

The “treaty” so bad that even the Dems in the Senate would have refused to ratify it. Hence we ended up with the 1st nuclear weapons “treaty” in history that wasn’t a treaty at all.

Satanic Trump is out to destroy world stability.

He is just itching to nuke something.

Only an idiot would take this fabrication as the truth.

How many lies can Ramirez pack into one cartoon?

ALL THEY HAVE LEFT IS LIES.