The Limits of New Iran Sanctions

Iran faces new rounds of sanctions both from the UN Security Council and the United States. But while the sanctions wisely couple punitive measures with a desire for "robust dialogue," says sanctions expert Meghan O'Sullivan, a professor of international affairs at Harvard's Kennedy School, there are serious questions about whether Tehran will see them as a serious threat to regime stability and change course. O'Sullivan also notes the U.S. sanctions, which target countries doing business with Iran, could jeopardize the "extraordinary international consensus" on Iran. If the current sanctions strategy doesn't push Iran to negotiations, she says, the "United States and its allies will need to look at the other options, which include military force, containment, and fostering political change in Iran."