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.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan welcomed climate commitments from world leaders at COP31 on Thursday, as he held a series of high-level mee...
Lahore, the capital of Pakistan’s eastern Punjab province, has topped global rankings for air pollution among major cities, as hazardous smog...
At least 28 people, including 10 police officers and 18 militants, were killed in violence in northwestern Pakistan, authorities said on Wednesday ...
European leaders gathered in Dublin on Thursday, 12 November, for the ninth European Political Community (EPC) summit, with security, defence and energy high on the agenda. Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev held talks focused on peace, trade and regional cooperation.
UN Secretary-General António Guterres delivered a stark warning at this year's COP31 summit, saying the climate crisis iss advancing faster than governments' efforts to contain it.
Iran will not let a single particle of its enriched nuclear material leave the country, and any new U.S. attack would be met with strikes on distant American bases, Iranian security chief Mohsen Rezaei has said.
Nvidia chief executive Jensen Huang is stepping down amid reports linking him to a woman suspected by U.S. authorities of spying for China, throwing the future of the $4 trillion chipmaker into uncertainty.
Four million workers across Spain joined a general strike on Wednesday over the country’s deepening housing crisis, unions said, bringing disruption to factories, ports, shops and public transport just weeks before a snap general election.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan welcomed climate commitments from world leaders at COP31 on Thursday, as he held a series of high-level meetings covering regional security, trade and energy cooperation.
Lahore, the capital of Pakistan’s eastern Punjab province, has topped global rankings for air pollution among major cities, as hazardous smog continues to blanket the region.
Iraq is exploring the possibility of importing natural gas from Azerbaijan through Türkiye as Baghdad looks for new ways to secure fuel for its power stations and reduce its dependence on external suppliers.
Kazakhstan-linked hackers stole thousands of national security documents from Tajikistan, a cybersecurity company has said.
At least 28 people, including 10 police officers and 18 militants, were killed in violence in northwestern Pakistan, authorities said on Wednesday (11 November).
You can download the AnewZ application from Play Store and the App Store.
What is your opinion on this topic?
Leave the first comment