Over decades, the US has seen sanctions as the preferred policy option when tensions with Iran escalate. The use of sanctions against Iran, and their impact on the country’s internal and foreign politics, is the topic of the book “How Sanctions Work: Iran and the Impact of Economic Warfare.” The volume is the result of the collective effort of four different scholars of Iranian politics, Narges Bajoghli, Vali Nasr, Djavad Salehi-Isfahani, and Ali Vaez. One of the central arguments of the book is that sanctions are often not the efficient policy tool they are presented to be. Even though US sanctions on Iran are more than four decades old, the authors explain that there are significant knowledge gaps in our understanding of these sanctions. The hardliner Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi has carried on with these kinds of policies, including in his budget for 2023 massive amounts for cash and bread subsidies.

Source: New York Times May 03, 2024 03:12 UTC