Washington, DC – President Trump’s Sanctions on Iran are Dangerous and Costly. The United States is set to reimpose a new round of nuclear-related sanctions on Iran next week as part of a highly flawed “maximum pressure campaign” that began with withdrawing from the JCPOA (Iran nuclear deal). Despite the Administration’s claims, this will not force Iran to change the policies we care about. In fact, the sanctions will create real and unnecessary costs for the American people, our allies, and partners. By abandoning our commitments under the deal, we continue to isolate ourselves, driving a deeper wedge between America and the global community, most importantly our vital European allies. And through the threat of unilateral sanctions, we have seen an increase in global oil prices and our closest allies are seeking alternative economic mechanisms that could put the U.S.-centric global financial system, from which we benefit greatly, at risk.
“The Trump Administration has laid out unachievably high objectives for changes in Iran and its policies, but it is relying on economic pressure that will necessarily be less comprehensive than what President Obama achieved by working with a broad international coalition that included Iran’s most important trading partners. The outcome will at best be U.S. isolation and failure and at worst conflict with Iran,” said Jarrett Blanc, former deputy lead coordinator and State Department coordinator for Iran nuclear implementation at the U.S. Department of State.
President Trump says that he is helping Americans and keeping the nation safe, but his actions tell a different story. Violating the Iran nuclear agreement and unilaterally reimplementing these sanctions is a destabilizing action that puts America back on a path to war another in the region. These policies inflame tensions that will likely encourage Iranian malign behaviors to continue –including possibly restarting their nuclear weapons program – that could pull the United States into conflict.
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