Sanctioning Iran
Will I still be able to buy my tea?
The Economist on 25 February wrote with regard to Iran's development of nuclear energy / weapons and whether sanctions would be effective against the belligerent country. I ever argued that sanctions will not work against Iran, and most readers in an online debate about Iran agree. However this article at least has me thinking again about the plausibility of specific sanctions against certain perpetrators in Iran and not against the whole Iranian population in general.
What would be more able to deter Iran, as proposed in this article: a ban on weapons sales, a curtail on investments in the oil & gas industries in Iran and financial sanctions against banks that deal with suspicious Iranian firms. What might successfully deter Iran from acquiring the nuclear weapon, however, might not necessarily be able to be carried out given Russian and Chinese resistance towards tough sanctions against Iran. Vested interests evidently, but at least Russia is beginning to see the light after being rebuffed by Iran for offering alternatives to enriching uranium in Iran by offering to enrich uranium in Russia. Russia continues to sell weapons to Iran however, which would negate the effect of a weapons trading ban.
But unfortunately, the Iranian government appears as if it is immune to sanctions and international action against its actions, and continues to act as if nothing has happened. Life is made much more difficult for the Iranian government and the Revolutionary Guards behind the scenes, but life is also made difficult for the local Iranians. Hopefully, if China can see the light and squeeze Iran, Iran might back down considering that China is considered one of its major backers.