Since the 1979 storming of the embassy and seizure of American diplomats in Tehran, the United States has imposed wave after wave of sanctions on the Islamic Republic of Iran. Over time, the sanctions have grown from Executive orders aimed at Iranian support for terrorism into a far more comprehensive congressional and international regime that focuses on Iran’s nuclear program. As negotiations over this program continue, legal analysis of non-proliferation agreements, sanctions law and the respective foreign policy powers of Congress and the President have become inextricably linked to the diplomatic initiative with the Islamic Republic.
Latest in Iran
The United States has long promised to ensure trade in humanitarian goods for countries under its economic sanctions. Yet the Trump administration's maximum pressure campaign against Iran is rendering these legal exemptions unworkable in practice.
Even with limited sanctions relief, Iran faces structural constraints that the nuclear deal will not change.
Maximum pressure, meet minimum patience.
The latest move in the Trump administration's pressure campaign is more bark than bite.
These measures reflect broader trends of growing U.S. reliance on targeted sanctions—including going after named individuals—as means for addressing broader foreign and security challenges.
The emergence of a financial intermediary vehicle that exists beyond the U.S. financial system has potentially adverse implications for U.S. sanctions policy.
The INSTEX system is intended to allow companies based in the European Union to continue to engage in business with Iran without running afoul of sanctions imposed by the U.S.
The New York Times reports that the Trump administration has accelerated a secret American program to sabotage Iran’s missiles and rockets by inserting faulty parts and materials into Iran’s aerospace supply chains.
On Feb. 13, the court handed down its decision on the U.S. preliminary objections in Certain Iranian Assets (Iran v. United States).
The prospect of meaningful change in Iran forever lies somewhere between unthinkable and inevitable.