Speaking at the Pentagon Secretary of Defense Robert Gates lauded the UN sanctions against Iran, saying they had been “more effective and more severe” than anyone had expected.
Exactly how this is the case is unclear, as Secretary Gates’ only specific comments were that the sanctions “provided a legal platform” for even harsher sanctions in the future. Yet this is hardly a surprise. What then did the sanctions really accomplish?
Seemingly very little. It appears to have done damage to Iran’s civilian economy, weakened the opposition, and given well connected firms within Iran a number of new business opportunities in circumventing the sanctions.
As for the stated goals of the sanctions, which were to get Iran to abandon its civilian uranium enrichment program, exactly nothing has happened in this regard. Iran continues to rule out doing so, and despite the ever more outlandish threats it seems this program is going on relatively unfettered, and with the legal oversight of the IAEA, who continues to verify the non-diversion of materials for any non-civilian purpose.
The US is spending $180 bn to modernize its nuclear weapons. I think Iran's total defense budget is around $4 bn/year and that includes paying for uniforms, etc. At that rate it would take Iran 5,000 years to catch up to this year's American armaments if they were to change course and pursue the dreaded nuclear option. The sanctions should be on US not the other way around.
the defense disparity is a fact that the U.S. news media should transmit to all citizens of the U.S. Is there a "controlled" media in the U.S.?
What have the sanctions achieved? They have driven another wedge between Iran and America. Just what the lobby wanted.