Sanctions Have Arrived
A few days after the news of the new coordination between the U.S. government and European allies to counter Iran’s role in strengthening Russia’s military and aiding its aggression in Ukraine, three European countries, alongside the Biden administration, imposed their new sanctions against Iran coinciding with Antony Blinken’s visit to Britain. These sanctions, along with new warnings to Iran, have been announced. First and foremost, it should be noted that Iran’s nuclear program is under scrutiny these days, and Rafael Grossi and the IAEA are making efforts to open up new dialogue with Iranian officials and create a process of maximum assurance in overseeing Iran’s nuclear program and reducing the concerns of the organization he leads in this area during the Board of Governors meetings. The new sanctions target Iranian individuals, organizations, and companies, and separately, a coordinated action to punish Iran by restricting flight services has been implemented, with Western officials explicitly highlighting Iran Air as a target. It should be noted that this is just the beginning of this phase of the U.S. and its allies’ confrontation with Iran as a partner in Russia’s aggression against Ukraine. As the British government has promised, new laws for trade and transactional restrictions with Iran are on the way, aiming to block any means of strengthening Iran’s military industries and dual-use industries and technologies. With such extensive restrictions in the military sector, many non-military areas will also suffer and be deprived of access to software and hardware. In his remarks alongside his British counterpart on the day of the announcement of the new U.S. and UK sanctions, Antony Blinken explicitly warned Masoud Pezeshkian and Araghchi, pointing out that they have spoken of improving relations with Europe and lifting sanctions, whereas Iran’s provocative actions are exactly contrary to this trend.