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."

Comments

Re:Bullshit

[dlleigh]

The enemy of your enemy is not always your friend.

Why is Iran still the bogy man

[aberglas]

Unlike China, there are real and freeish elections in Iran. There human rights are not nearly as bad as many of our friends. Sure, they are overseen by a religious right that most Iranians would love to remove. But they are certainly no worse than many of our other friends. (Same goes for Cuba.)

What is worse, picking on Iran just supports their religious right. It is counter productive.

And remember (if you ever knew) that Iran lost some 2 MILLION dead in the not so ancient war with Iraq, during which Hussein used plenty of chemical weapons. And we actively supported Hussein.

Re:Why is Iran still the bogy man

[alvinrod]

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.

Re:Why is Iran still the bogy man

[hyades1]

That you were modded down to -1 for this sensible, insightful comment speaks very poorly for who Slashdot is allowing to moderate these discussions. I know there is now a strong right wing presence here seeking to either take over or wreck the site. It looks like they're winning.

I expect this remark to join yours at -1 if the creeps with the fake accounts still have mod points left.

Re:Why is Iran still the bogy man

[hyades1]

The government of the day might support anti-American causes, but US actions are doing a lot more to punish Iranians most likely to support First World views while leaving the shit-for-brains Ayatollahs unaffected.

The main reason why Iran is now a power in the Middle East is that Bush Junior, who as of January 2017 became the second stupidest President in American history, decided to get rid of Saddam Hussein and thereby eliminate the biggest check on the Ayatollahs' ambitions.

Iran is still America's best hope for a relatively secular counterweight to the real exporters of Middle East terror...their good friends the Saudis. A whole older generation still remember what it was like before the religious fanatics took over. And some of the really old ones remember what Iran was like before America installed the Shah.

Re:Why is Iran still the bogy man

[labnet]

It's more to do with petrodollars and central banks.
Saudi Arabia is a country that promotes Islamic terrorism yet is protected by the USA. Why? It's because many years ago, they made a pact to always sell their oil in USD in exchange for military protection from the USA.
Any country that has threatened the petrodollar arrangement has ended up overthrown. Also not having a Rothschild central bank can be dangerous to your health.

Re:Why is Iran still the bogy man

[DNS-and-BIND]

The Shah was a good guy. He was a reformer and wanted to bring Iran into the modern age, over the objections of their people. The ayatollahs are legitimately popular. Just not among the Iranian exiles that dominate Western coverage. But the average Joes of Iran really like their Islamic government.

Re:Why is Iran still the bogy man

[DNS-and-BIND]

Iran's government is legitimately popular. They're not "right-wing", they're Islamist. Islamism doesn't fit on the Western left/right scale, it's a third axis. The average Joe of Iran thinks an Islamic government is great, and it's how people were meant to live.

Come on, engaging in conspiracy theories makes you no better than those you hate. Contrary opinions doesn't mean a cabal is out to get you. Relax, breathe, look under your bed for KKK members.

Re:Why is Iran still the bogy man

[DNS-and-BIND]

So you actually, really, truly believe that there are unseen enemies out there, sabotaging a discussion forum on an obscure tech website. Seriously? Slashdot has zero reach, it's not worth the trouble. Something like 95% of Slashdot readers never click on the comments. These days, it's the same 50-100 people talking to each other.

That's why this conspiracy theory nonsense is so destructive. It teaches people like you that there is no such thing as legitimate opposition to your ideas. Everything you see that disagrees with you must be the work of those dirty foreigners. It's the Red Scare Part II. Now, what do we know about blaming the foreigners for our troubles?

Re:TRUMP 2020!!!

[Anonymous Coward]

A vote for Stein was a vote for Trump.