by Richard Silverstein
Last month the Swiss foreign minister visited Iran and, together with
President Ahmadinejad, attended the signing of a multi-billion Euro contract
for Iran to supply Switzerland with large amounts of natural gas over the
next 25 years.
The US State Department immediately condemned the deal and said it would be
investigating whether it breached the Iran Sanctions Act. Israel complained
too, describing the Swiss minister's visit to Tehran as an "act unfriendly
to Israel". Various Jewish groups also joined in the protests, including the
World Jewish Congress.
]
This righteous indignation was entirely predictable but more than a little
odd nevertheless. On March 30, the Swiss newspaper Sonntag retaliated with
the revelation that Israel, supposedly observing an ironclad boycott of all
things Iranian, has been buying Iranian oil for years. . . .
FULL TEXT
Leonard Doyle, "U.S. Hits Iran With
Toughest Sanctions Since 1979," Guardian, October 26, 2007