"For decades, an array of economic sanctions was considered the key to containing Iran’s regional ambitions and deterring its aggressive nuclear program. But with direct military conflict now underway, we must ask: were sanctions ever effective, or did they just postpone the inevitable while allowing adversarial and tyrannical regimes the time to strengthen their military capabilities?
Until the 1979 Iranian Revolution and the fall of the Shah, Israel and Iran maintained extensive economic, military, and intelligence ties. By 1982, however, the Islamic Republic of Iran had become a key supporter of a new movement, Hezbollah, based in Lebanon, and later the leader of the "Axis of Resistance" to Israel and its allies. This network of militias—armed, trained, and financed by Iran—mainly operated in Lebanon, Iraq, Syria, Yemen, and the Palestinian Territories. Yet Iran largely avoided directly attacking Israel or taking credit for hostile actions by these heavily armed proxies. Israel, in turn, focused its military actions on the proxies, while hoping that international pressure—particularly the economic sanctions imposed since the 1980s—would eventually persuade Iran to curb its support for terrorism and halt its nuclear ambitions."
*The opinions expressed in MDC publications are the authors’ alone.