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US Bans American Companies From Selling To Chinese Electronics Maker ZTE (reuters.com)
An anonymous reader shares a report: The U.S. Department of Commerce is banning American companies from selling components to leading Chinese telecom equipment maker ZTE Corp for seven years for violating the terms of a sanctions violation case, U.S. officials said on Monday. The Chinese company, which sells smartphones in the United States, pleaded guilty last year in federal court in Texas for conspiring to violate U.S. sanctions by illegally shipping U.S. goods and technology to Iran. It paid $890 million in fines and penalties, with an additional penalty of $300 million that could be imposed. As part of the agreement, Shenzhen-based ZTE Corp promised to dismiss four senior employees and discipline 35 others by either reducing their bonuses or reprimanding them, senior Commerce Department officials told Reuters. Update: The UK's cyber security watchdog has warned the UK telecoms sector not to use network equipment or services from Chinese supplier ZTE as it would have a "long term negative effect on the security of the UK."
We don't have a good reason for being enemies of Iran and in many ways they would make a better ally for us in the region than most other countries because they are among the more progressive countries in the Middle East and more likely to be supportive of Western ideals. A lot of it just comes down historical events putting us on the current path we're on, even if those are past and buried. People have long memories and there are just too many people on both sides that still harbor old hatreds (which may be completely valid) to be able to find a common ground to work from moving forward.
However it really boils down to us already being closely tied in with both Saudi Arabia and Israel. Saudi Arabia hates Iran for being the wrong type of Muslims and sees them as a challenger in terms of which country will be dominant in the region. Relations with Israel were seriously strained when the Ayatollahs came into power and declared Israel as an enemy of Islam and groups like Hezbollah were founded and have received some state support from Iran. Conceivably, the U.S. getting closer to Iran and democracy being restored would probably see the country relax their relationships in regards to Israel. They were actually quite cordial with one and other in the past and I don't think the average Iranian cares about hating Israel as much as the extreme religious sect that controls the country now does.
I don't think we could be allies of both Saudi Arabia and Iran at the same time now. Israel would be pragmatic enough to deal with Iran while relations are smoothed out, but I don't believe that the Saudi's would be. The two countries currently don't have any diplomatic relations following some recent events between them, and there are perhaps too many recent historical events between the two to expect any type of amelioration. It's easier for us to continue being allies with the Saudis even if it isn't in our long-term best interests to do so. The U.S. political system makes it incredibly difficult to change the status quo in a large way and no matter which party extends the olive branch, the other will denounce it purely for political reasons.