U.S. officials are increasingly relying on economic sanctions as a tool of foreign policy, but the effectiveness of sanctions in achieving policy objectives is questionable, according to Bryan Early, political science professor at University at Albany.
The U.S. Senate overwhelmingly approved a measure Thursday that would give lawmakers a say in a potential sanctions-related accord with Iran.
Iran and six nations outlined a possible permanent accord Thursday that would impose long-term limits on the Islamic republic's nuclear program in exchange for the lifting of nearly all Western and U.N. sanctions.
Even with limited sanctions relief from the United States, foreign banks have been reluctant to process transactions for Iran under the terms of a newly-extended multilateral accord, an American official said Tuesday.
Governmental documents published Monday cleared the way for foreign financial institutions to process limited transactions for Iranians but U.S. banks will be unlikely to relax their sanctions policies, according to experts.
As early as Monday, banks will be able to do what has become seemingly unthinkable in the sanctions compliance field during recent years: ramp up their ties to Iran.
U.S. House lawmakers are working to introduce a new round of comprehensive sanctions against Iran by March in an effort to curtail the country's alleged nuclear weapons program, say sources.
The designation would officially block all or part of Iran's 125,000-strong Revolutionary Guard Corps, the country's elite military unit, from dealing with U.S. financial institutions.