Avast ye mateys! Set yer sights on the US sanctions saga, from Obama's days to Biden's age!
2023-07-19
Avast, me hearties! In the past ten years, the landlubbers of the U.S. have been punishing the scallywags of Russia and Iran for their mischievous deeds abroad. 'Tis a never-ending saga, ye see, with outcomes as varied as a booty in a treasure chest.
In the realm of international sanctions, Russia and Iran hold the dubious distinction of being the most heavily sanctioned countries in the world. Before Russia's invasion of Ukraine, Iran held the top spot with approximately 3,600 sanctions, while Russia trailed behind with 2,695. However, following the invasion in February 2022, Russia's sanctions skyrocketed to over 16,000.The initial sanctions against Russia were implemented under the Obama administration after their invasion of Ukraine in 2014. Former Ambassador to Poland, Daniel Fried, who served as the State Department coordinator for sanctions policy at the time, described these sanctions as moderate by current standards. However, they were considered severe at the time, given their impact on Russia and its economy.
Fried believes that the sanctions had an impact on Russian President Vladimir Putin, causing him to retreat from his initial war aims in Ukraine. However, he also criticizes the Obama administration for not escalating the sanctions further in subsequent years, which allowed Putin to continue his aggressive actions against Ukraine.
The Trump administration later added additional sanctions on Russia in response to cyber activity, support for North Korea, and election interference. These mixed messages from President Trump himself undermined the efforts of his own administration.
On the other hand, Iran's sanctions have faced challenges due to a lack of unified international support. While the U.S. pushed for sanctions against Iran, the Europeans were more reluctant. This less cohesive approach has made the Iran sanctions regime less effective compared to the more coherent and broadly supported policy against Russia.
Despite these challenges, experts believe that the sanctions have had a significant impact on both Russia and Iran, albeit with varying degrees of success. The goals of the Russia sanctions were to weaken Putin's military and cripple Moscow's economy. However, the direction of the Iran sanctions is less clear, with ongoing debates about their objectives. Nevertheless, the collective harm caused by these sanctions has put pressure on these countries economically and impacted their ability to manage conflicts such as the Russian invasion of Ukraine.