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A plane landed in Sao Joao Beach, killing two people, in Costa da Caparica, Portugal August 2, 2017

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Hermitage Capital CEO William Browder waits to testify before a continuation of Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on alleged Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential election on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S., July 27, 2017

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TOPSHOT - Moto taxi driver hold flags of the governing Rwanda Patriotic Front's at the beginning of a parade in Kigali, on August 02, 2017. Incumbent Rwandan President Paul Kagame will close his electoral campaigning ahead of the August 4, presidential elections which he is widely expected to win giving him a third term in office

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TOPSHOT - Migrants wait to be rescued by the Aquarius rescue ship run by non-governmental organisations (NGO) "SOS Mediterranee" and "Medecins Sans Frontieres" (Doctors Without Borders) in the Mediterranean Sea, 30 nautic miles from the Libyan coast, on August 2, 2017.

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- Incumbent Rwandan President Paul Kagame gestures as he arrives for the closing rally of the presidential campaign in Kigali, on August 2, 2017 while supporters greet him. Rwandans go the polls on August 4, 2017 in a presidential election in which strongman Paul Kagame is widely expected to cruise to a third term in office.

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IAAF World ParaAthletics Championships - London, Britain - July 17, 2017

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US President Donald Trump (R) and First Lady Melania Trump disembark form Air Force One upon arrival at Paris Orly airport on July 13, 2017, beginning a 24-hour trip that coincides with France's national day and the 100th anniversary of US involvement in World War I

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Iraqi boys wash a vehicle in west Mosul a few days after the government's announcement of the liberation of the embattled city from Islamic State (IS) group fighters

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Iran election and Qatar crisis set Middle East on edge as Saudi Arabia seeks to extend its influence - The Independent

Give Iran a break

Oh, Iran! What a week it was.

At first, everything was cheery when President Trump confirmed that Iran has been complying with the nuclear deal signed under Obama. Hoorah! Our trust in a Middle Eastern country hasnt backfired. In fact, it seems that the Iran nuclear agreement has done worlds of good for Iranians wishing to join the world.

As if to prove this, Iran launched its first satellite into space on Wednesday. A first space launch is truly an important day in a countrys history, and one that will be remembered for years to come. Since the 1960s, having a satellite has been the definition of modernity for a country. You dont join the big leagues of the U.N. until you have your own weather satellite and GPS systems, and it finally seems that Iran is able to do that.

But no. Things couldnt be that simple. A day after the Pentagons confirmation of Irans space launch, President Trump announced new economic sanctions on the country, claiming that a space rocket is close enough to warrant a ballistic missile scare. I suppose the only thing more characteristic of our president than announcing hes going back on his word would be doing so over Twitter.

For goodness sake, after all of the havoc the United States has created in Iran, cant we give them a break?

COOPER KIMBALL-RHINES

Hopkinton

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Letter: Give Iran a break - Concord Monitor

In recent weeks, US President Donald Trump and his advisers have joined Saudi Arabia in accusing Iran of being the epicenter of Middle East terrorism. The US Congress, meanwhile, is readying yet another round of sanctions against Iran. But the caricature of Iran as the tip of the spear of global terrorism, in Saudi King Salmans words, is not only wrongheaded, but also extremely dangerous, because it could lead to yet another Middle East war.

In fact, that seems to be the goal of some US hotheads, despite the obvious fact that Iran is on the same side as the United States in opposing the Islamic State (ISIS). And then theres the fact that Iran, unlike most of its regional adversaries, is a functioning democracy. Ironically, the escalation of US and Saudi rhetoric came just two days after Irans May 19 election, in which moderates led by incumbent President Hassan Rouhani defeated their hardline opponents at the ballot box.

Perhaps for Trump, the pro-Saudi, anti-Iran embrace is just another business proposition. He beamed at Saudi Arabias decision to buy $110 billion of new US weapons, describing the deal as jobs, jobs, jobs, as if the only gainful employment for American workers requires them to stoke war. And who knows what private deals for Trump and his family might also be lurking in his warm embrace of Saudi belligerence.

The Trump administrations bombast toward Iran is, in a sense, par for the course. US foreign policy is littered with absurd, tragic, and hugely destructive foreign wars that served no real purpose except the pursuit of some misguided strand of official propaganda. How else, in the end, to explain Americas useless and hugely costly entanglements in Vietnam, Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria, Libya, Yemen, and many other conflicts?

Americas anti-Iran animus goes back to the countrys 1979 Islamic Revolution. For the US public, the 444-day ordeal of the US embassy staff held hostage by radical Iranian students constituted a psychological shock that has still not abated. The hostage drama dominated the US media from start to finish, resulting in a kind of public post-traumatic stress disorder similar to the social trauma of the 9/11 attacks a generation later.

For most Americans, then and now, the hostage crisis and indeed the Iranian Revolution itself was a bolt out of the blue. Few Americans realize that the Iranian Revolution came a quarter-century after the CIA and Britains intelligence agency MI6 conspired in 1953 to overthrow the countrys democratically elected government and install a police state under the Shah of Iran, to preserve Anglo-American control over Irans oil, which was threatened by nationalization. Nor do most Americans realize that the hostage crisis was precipitated by the ill-considered decision to admit the deposed Shah into the US for medical treatment, which many Iranians viewed as a threat to the revolution.

During the Reagan Administration, the US supported Iraq in its war of aggression against Iran, including Iraqs use of chemical weapons. When the fighting finally ended in 1988, the US followed up with financial and trade sanctions on Iran that remain in place to this day. Since 1953, the US has opposed Irans self-rule and economic development through covert action, support for authoritarian rule during 1953-79, military backing for its enemies, and decades-long sanctions.

Another reason for Americas anti-Iran animus is Irans support for Hezbollah and Hamas, two militant antagonists of Israel. Here, too, it is important to understand the historical context.

In 1982, Israel invaded Lebanon in an attempt to crush militant Palestinians operating there. In the wake of that war, and against the backdrop of anti-Muslim massacres enabled by Israels occupation forces, Iran supported the formation of the Shia-led Hezbollah to resist Israels occupation of southern Lebanon. By the time Israel withdrew from Lebanon in 2000, nearly 20 years after its original invasion, Hezbollah had become a formidable military, political, and social force in Lebanon, and a continuing thorn in Israels side.

Iran also supports Hamas, a hardline Sunni group that rejects Israels right to exist. Following decades of Israeli occupation of Palestinian lands captured in the 1967 war, and with peace negotiations stalemated, Hamas defeated Fatah (the Palestine Liberation Organizations political party) at the ballot box in the 2006 election for the Palestinian parliament. Rather than entering into a dialogue with Hamas, the US and Israel decided to try to crush it, including through a brutal war in Gaza in 2014, resulting in a massive Palestinian death toll, untold suffering, and billions of dollars in damage to homes and infrastructure in Gaza but, predictably, leading to no political progress whatsoever.

Israel also views Irans nuclear program as an existential threat. Hardline Israelis repeatedly sought to convince the US to attack Irans nuclear facilities, or at least allow Israel to do so. Fortunately, President Barack Obama resisted, and instead negotiated a treaty between Iran and the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council (plus Germany) that blocks Irans path to nuclear weapons for a decade or more, creating space for further confidence-building measures on both sides. Yet Trump and the Saudis seem intent on destroying the possibility of normalizing relations created by this important and promising agreement.

External powers are extremely foolish to allow themselves to be manipulated into taking sides in bitter national or sectarian conflicts that can be resolved only by compromise. The Israel-Palestine conflict, the competition between Saudi Arabia and Iran, and the Sunni-Shia relationship all require mutual accommodation. Yet each side in these conflicts harbors the tragic illusion of achieving an ultimate victory without the need to compromise, if only the US (or some other major power) will fight the war on its behalf.

During the past century, Britain, France, the US, and Russia have all misplayed the Middle East power game. All have squandered lives, money, and prestige. (Indeed, the Soviet Union was gravely, perhaps fatally, weakened by its war in Afghanistan.) More than ever, we need an era of diplomacy that emphasizes compromise, not another round of demonization and an arms race that could all too easily spiral into disaster.

Jeffrey D. Sachs is Professor of Sustainable Development and Professor of Health Policy and Management at Columbia University, Director of Columbias Center for Sustainable Development and of the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network. His books include The End of Poverty, Common Wealth, The Age of Sustainable Development, and, most recently, Building the New American Economy

The views expressed in opinion articles published on euronews do not represent our editorial position

Project Syndicate 2017

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View: America's dangerous game with Iran - euronews

Last Updated Aug 2, 2017 11:23 AM EDT

President Trump has signed a sweeping sanctions measure that targets Russia, Iran and North Korea, the White House said in a statement Wednesday.

The president's signature comes after some speculation that he could veto or not sign the legislation, which passed both chambers of Congress in overwhelming votes last week. Vice President Mike Pence and other White House officials had signaled, however, that Mr. Trump planned to sign the bill into law.

While he signed the bill, the president made clear in a statement Wednesday that he's signing the bill "for the sake of national unity" even though he isn'tsatisfied with some of its provisions.

"I favor tough measures to punish and deter bad behavior by the rogue regimes in Tehran and Pyongyang. I also support making clear that America will not tolerate interference in our democratic process, and that we will side with our allies and friends against Russian subversion and destabilization," he said.

He added, "Still, the bill remains seriously flawed particularly because it encroaches on the executive branch's authority to negotiate."

The bill maintains and expands sanctions against the Russian government. Most importantly, it will require congressional approval before the president can ease or lift sanctions on Russia. The measure also targets sanctions on Russian activities that undermine U.S. cybersecurity, sanctions on Russian crude oil projects and on certain transactions with foreign sanctions evaders and human rights abusers, among other things.

A day after the Senate passed the new set of sanctions, Russia's Foreign Ministry last Friday announced countermeasures in which it set a Sept. 1 deadline for Washington to reduce the number of diplomatic staff in the country and ordered some U.S.-run facilities in Russia to close.

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In response to Russia's meddling in the 2016 election, Congress has imposed new sanctions on the country. CBS News correspondent Elizabeth Palmer...

Mr. Trump's signature is significant given that he spent time on the 2016 campaign trail promoting a platform that included a warming of relations with Russia and its president, Vladimir Putin. The two leaders met in person for the first time in early July at the G20 summit in Hamburg, Germany. Mr. Trump later came under fire for a previously undisclosed conversation that he had with Putin at the time over dinner in which only a Russian interpreter was present.

The measure also targets Iran's ballistic missile program, its support for terrorism and human rights violations, and yet it would still comply with the Iranian nuclear deal. Specifically, it imposes sanctions on any foreign person or foreign entity that does business with an entity already designated by the administration that has a connection to Iran's ballistic missile program. These sanctions, for example, could apply to any financial institution or any foreign company that provides key parts or components to Iran's missile program.

As for North Korea, it enforces compliance with United Nations shipping sanctions against North Korea and it imposes new sanctions in response to human rights abuses by the North Korean government and its bellicose behavior abroad.

The bill came togetherin July after a series of road bumps that lawmakers encountered over the last several months.

This also comes a day after the Senate confirmed Christopher Wray to serve as FBI director, replacing James Comey, who Mr. Trump abruptly fired in early May. Special Counsel Bob Mueller then took over the federal investigation into Russian efforts to influence the 2016 election, which is still underway.

The U.S. intelligence community concluded in a report in early January that Putin ordered a campaign involving covert intelligence operations and overt propaganda to undermine faith in the U.S. election, disparage Hillary Clinton and help Mr. Trump's election chances.

CBS News' Jillian Hughes contributed to this report.

2017 CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved.

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Trump signs sweeping sanctions bill targeting Russia, Iran and North Korea - CBS News

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US and allies call Iran's recent rocket launch 'threatening' Columbus Ledger-Enquirer The United States and three Western allies are calling Iran's recent launch of a satellite-carrying rocket "a threatening and provocative step" that is "inconsistent" with a U.N. resolution endorsing the 2015 agreement to rein in its nuclear program ... At UN, Western powers warn Iran rocket test a 'threatening step'Reuters US, Europeans push UN for action over Iran rocket launchDaily Mail US Says European Allies Back Protest at UN on Iran Rocket TestBloomberg all 7 news articles »

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US and allies call Iran's recent rocket launch 'threatening' - Columbus Ledger-Enquirer