Say no to sanctions on Iran. Reason #5: They will ruin our chance for diplomacy.

 In Iran, Say no to sanctions

This week, I’ll be writing a series on Groundswell covering some of the many reasons why we must ramp up our efforts to oppose sanctions.

Click here to read Reason #1: They won’t work.

Click here to read Reason #2: The empower the current regime.

Click here to read Reason #3: They hurt the people we want to help.

Click here to read Reason #4: Iranians will blame the US, not their government.

Throughout the week, I’ve laid out some of the most compelling reasons why the US should abandon the idea of passing sanctions to ban gas imports to Iran. So what should the US do? In the short term, it’s important to continue the Obama administration’s policy of noninterference to allow the domestic tension to come to a resolution within Iran. Eventually, however, we will need to resolve outstanding tensions with Iran, and the only viable option for doing so is diplomacy. The Obama administration has maintained its commitment to engaging with Iran, though there is much discussion from Congress and other corners pushing for an arbitrary deadline of September for closing the door on talks. Negotiating directly is the best solution we have available, but if Congress passes sanctions, they are threatening the opportunity for a nonviolent resolution of tensions.

The various dynamics I discussed in this series, from empowering the regime to contributing fodder for anti-western diatribes to hurting the Iranian people, will poison the environment and make reaching out diplomatically incredibly challenging if not impossible. However one feels about the current regime, diplomacy is not a reward for good behavior, but a pragmatic tool used to resolve conflict and protect US security. Negotiations are hampered by a hostile  environment; the Iranian regime wants to be treated as a peer and power broker, as it is in the Middle East, and it’s impossible to convey that respect while simultaneously trying to cripple the Iranian economy.

Passing economic sanctions also steps up the level of belligerence and nudges the US and Iran toward more violent interaction with Iran. While few sane people (meaning not John Bolton) think the military action is a reasonable approach, there are still proponents of an attack. We can easily, unwittingly find ourselves closer to that possibility following the escalation of nonmilitary harsh actions. The New York Times notes some of the potential consequences:

But enforcing what would amount to a gasoline embargo has long been considered risky and extremely difficult; it would require the participation of Russia and China, among others that profit from trade with Iran. Iran has threatened to respond by cutting off oil exports and closing shipping traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, at a moment that the world economy is highly vulnerable.

One can only imagine what kind of response Congress would clamor for if Iran followed through on this threat. Ed Morse and Michael Makovsky note the measures that could be needed to enforce a gas embargo on Iran (and frighteningly consider it an option to have on the table):

If the United States is committed to using an energy lever, the only effective one available is to deploy a naval blockade to interdict Iran’s gasoline imports, and possibly its oil exports. Since this would be tantamount to an act of war, it should only be initiated by the United States and its allies after diplomacy and financial sanctions have failed, as a last measure short of a military strike on Iranian nuclear facilities.

If you think promoting diplomacy is challenging right now, just imagine trying to engage Iran if any of these scenarios came about. This is where the US Congress is irresponsibly leading us, and we need to step in before it is too late.

I started this year very optimistic about the possibility for drastically shifting our relationship with Iran. The disputed election and its aftermath have been a blow to many of us who support diplomacy between our countries and human rights in both the US and Iran. But there is still an opportunity to start moving our relationship in a new direction, and improved relations between our countries will not only make us safer, it can also open up space for reform within Iran. But if we want to see that happen, we need to take action. Click here to urge your representative to oppose a vote on sanctions.

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Showing 9 comments
  • Estelle Solomon
    Reply

    this is obviously not a good idea! we need to support the possibility of negotiation & do everything that is needed to insure it’s success

  • Hossein
    Reply

    Sanction is enough lets start talking to them

  • Hossein
    Reply

    Lets give diplomacy a chance and talk to them they had enough sanctions! from 1959

  • Thomas Thirion
    Reply

    Who are we to tell an other nation that they can have no gas, or for that matter food or medical supplies for their people unless they do like we want? Ive read that our sanctions in pre-second war Iraq caused hundreds of thousands children and the poor to go w/o food and medicine and many died. If you want to hurt a nation go after the leaders who started the problem, not the innocent. If you have to sanction the do it w/ weapons and their components agaist their military not heir people. Sometimes it seem like our government goes out of its way to incite terrorism. If you take away a man’s livlihood, starve a man’s children, w/o medices to keep his family well, then give him cause to hate you, justified or not. Enough is enough.

  • Rebecca Griffin
    Reply

    Thomas, it’s definitely true, as I mentioned in another post this series, that the Iranian people are likely to blame the US for their hardship, not their own government, especially when prominent Iranian activists have clearly said they oppose sanctions.

    Estelle and Hossein, I agree that it’s definitely time to start negotiating. It’s one approach that we have never tried, even though it’s most likely to bring about results. Now is an important time to show our representatives in Congress that there is public support for building a new and better relationship with Iran.

  • DESMOND DONNELLY
    Reply

    Sanctions will drive the Iranians away from us. Please give Peace a chance and start Talking.
    What do we lose by talking?

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