Sanctions on Iran have been a spectacular strategic failure for the West | Opinions

In the decades since the end of the Cold War, a powerful myth has taken hold in the West. It is the myth of the “smart” sanction, a foreign-policy tool that is supposed to be a clean, precise, and humane alternative to war. The belief is that by skillfully targeting a hostile regime’s key revenue sources and finances, one can bring it to heel without harming its citizens.

This is a dangerous delusion. As our recently published research on Iran reveals, the sanctions regime on Iran was…