Sanctions are a long-used tool designed as an alternative to military force and with the objective of changing governments’ behaviour, but they also end up hurting civilian citizens.
If in doubt, take a look at 47 years of U.S.-imposed sanctions against Iran, during which sanctions regimes have neither decreased prospects of a military encounter nor altered the policies of Iranian leaders.
Rather, they have negatively impacted Iranian society because of their broad nature affecting business, health, education and humanitarian aspects of life.
In mid-January, 2026, the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) clamped new sanctions on ships for allegedly transporting Iranian oil to international markets, in violation of unilateral U.S. sanctions.
The U.S. government is relying on energy policies and oil sanctions, to force Iran to back down after it rejected a demand to halt its nuclear programme.
U.S. sanctions on Iran date back to the 1979 Islamic Revolution, which ended Washington’s alliance with the former Shah. Nearly five decades later, those sanctions remain in force.
What began with frozen Iranian assets in U.S. banks, has since expanded, tied to disputes over Tehran’s regional policy, nuclear program, and ballistic missile development.
U.S. sanctions have intensified under Washington’s so-called “maximum pressure campaign”, targeting Iran’s foreign trade, particularly petrochemical exports. It began under President Donald Trump’s first term and has accelerated since his return to office in January 2025.
The sanctions now hit Iran’s energy, shipping, and financial sectors, with negative effects across a broad spectrum of society. Inflation above 50 percent and a steep currency decline of 90 percent have pushed up prices and weakened purchasing power.
While U.S. sanctions officially target specific sectors, their impact has been far-reaching, fuelling shortages and renewing debate over their effectiveness and humanitarian cost.
The U.S. sanctions have not changed Iran’s regional policy or its stand on the nuclear programme and ballistic missiles. The United States is demanding a zero-enrichment policy and limiting the range of Iran’s missiles to about 500 kilometres.
With Iran declaring the U.S. conditions its "red lines," there are no promising prospects on easing of U.S. sanctions, let alone removing them, in the near future.
Trump has said that the U.S. is "watching Iran" and is moving "an armada" of warships towards the country "just in case" he decides to take action.
In response to his threats, Iran unveiled a mural in downtown Tehran showcasing a strike on a U.S. aircraft carrier and a burning U.S. flag.
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Saudi Aramco has ordered staff to evacuate its headquarters amid escalating Houthi attacks on the kingdom. Two people were killed in an attack on Dammam airport, while Iran's IRGC Navy claimed strikes on seven vessels and warned the U.S. of a wider response.
Russian strikes on Ukraine overnight killed at least two people and injured 15 others, including two children, Ukrainian authorities said. Meanwhile, Russia said it had intercepted the vast majority of 630 Ukrainian drones launched towards Moscow.
Israeli military bulldozers have begun demolishing buildings in the West Bank city of Hebron on Friday, 23 October, following armed clashes with Palestinians that left two Israeli soldiers dead, according to the Israeli military.
Super typhoon Champi is set to batter Japan’s Okinawa Prefecture from Friday (23 October), bringing violent winds, torrential rain and waves up to 11 metres high, as airlines cancel flights and organisers scrap a major festival.
A powerful magnitude 7 earthquake has struck Tibet in southwestern China, killing 16 people and injuring 65, while forcing more than 12,000 residents to relocate as rescue teams respond to widespread aftershocks.
Foreign ministers meeting in Istanbul on Friday warned that renewed military strikes on Iran could deepen the regional conflict, urging diplomatic efforts to prevent further escalation.
Georgia’s Constitutional Court has extended hearings in a case seeking to ban five opposition parties, with proceedings now set to continue until 30 October. The court in Batumi will resume hearings on Monday, 26 October, after missing its original 23 October deadline.
Pakistan and the European Union have agreed to step up counterterrorism cooperation as security concerns over Afghanistan grow and tensions between Islamabad and Kabul persist.
The head of the Russian-led Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) says Armenia has effectively withdrawn from the military alliance, despite not formally ending its membership.
Uzbekistan’s President Shavkat Mirziyoyev has approved a new alphabet, bringing the Latin-script Uzbek alphabet closer to other alphabets used in the Turkic world.
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