US envoy slams Israel over 'illegal importation...from Iran"

[Phx_Dem]

US envoy slams Israel over 'illegal importation of pistachios from Iran'

The US and Israel are at odds about Iran’s “weapon”: Ten days ago, US Ambassador to Israel Richard H. Jones wrote a severe letter to Finance Minister Ronnie Bar-On, with copies sent to Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and two of his ministers.

In the letter, Jones accuses Israel of secretly trading with Iran and transferring foreign currency to the country, in direct violation of an Israeli law prohibiting trade with enemy states
The fuss is over something Iran is famous for, though perhaps less than its nuclear ambitions; namely pistachio nuts. The American government accused Israel of buying Iranian pistachios under the guise of trade with Turkey, despite the US's objection.

The US ambassador’s letter reveals another amazing fact: Israel is the largest per capita consumer of the pistachio. “I am writing to draw your attention to the troubling issue of illegal importation of pistachio of Iranian origin to Israel,” writes Jones.

http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3555682,00.html

Israelis must really like their pistachios.

note to mod--headline would not fit.

[no_hypocrisy]

1. Snark! Does that mean we won't let Israel attack Iran for us now?

:rofl:

[ingac70]

2. Israel must need to take care of their pistachio cravings...

more than they are worried about being nuked by Iran

:eyes:

[LiberalEsto]

3. Maybe these nuts

are going to be made into "greencake?"

[meegbear]

4. Israel's in cahoots with Iran???!1!?

time to invade.

[LeftishBrit]

5. Someone seems to be nuts here! (dreadful pun, I know!)

Further evidence that it's elements in the American government who put pressure on Israel to be more hawkish, rather than the other way round.

On a lighter note, this sounds like the core of a plot of a satirical comedy, where war is in the end averted by the enemy factions joining in a mutual love for pistachios!

[Phx_Dem]

6. The take away--don't mess with our nuts

;-)

[azurnoir]

7. The US is just p*ssed because

Israel has been ignoring our nuts lately.

Seriously though I am surprised that Israel does not grow its own pistachios.

[Scurrilous]

8. US ships cigarettes, bras, more to Iran

<snip>

"U.S. exports to Iran — including brassieres, bull semen, cosmetics and possibly even weapons — grew more than tenfold during President Bush's years in office even as he accused Iran of nuclear ambitions and helping terrorists. America sent more cigarettes to Iran , at least $158 million worth under Bush, than any other products.

Other surprising shipments to Iran during the Bush administration: fur clothing, sculptures, perfume and musical instruments. Top states shipping goods to Iran include California, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Michigan, Mississippi, New Jersey, North Carolina, Ohio and Wisconsin, according to an analysis by The Associated Press of seven years of U.S. government trade data.

Despite increasingly tough rhetoric toward Iran, which Bush has called part of an "axis of evil," U.S. trade in a range of goods survives on-again, off-again sanctions originally imposed nearly three decades ago. The rules allow sales of agricultural commodities, medicine and a few other categories of goods. The exemptions are designed to help Iranian families even as the United States pressures Iran's leaders.

"Our sanctions are targeted against the regime, not the people," said Adam Szubin, director of the Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control, which enforces the sanctions. The government tracks exports to Iran using details from shipping records, but in some cases it's unclear whether anyone pays attention."

more

[bemildred]

9. It's all a clever plot when we do it:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x3387328