While defenders of the 2015 nuclear agreement remain attached to the argument that the gradual tightening of U.S. sanctions on the Islamic Republic will not achieve results, recent reports show that, to the contrary, they’ve already done so. Majid Rafizadeh writes:
The sanctions have . . . imposed significant pressure on the Iranian government to the extent that it is cutting funding to its allies, [proxy] militias, and terror groups. In an unprecedented move, on April 17 the state-controlled Syrian newspaper al-Watan made an astonishing revelation when it reported that Iran had halted its credit line to the Syrian government. This occurred one day after the Iranian foreign minister, Javad Zarif, visited Syria. . . .
Since Donald Trump withdrew from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), commonly known as the Iranian nuclear deal, Iran’s oil revenues and exports have been steadily falling. Before the U.S. pulled out of the nuclear deal and began taking a tougher stance toward the ruling clerics of Iran, Iran was exporting more than 2.5 million barrels per day (bpd). Iran’s oil exports have since dropped to approximately 1.1 million bpd, a decline of more than 50 percent.
According to the latest reports, U..S sanctions have also caused Iran to cut funds to its militias in Syria. Iran’s militants are not getting their salaries and benefits, making it extremely difficult for them to continue fighting and destabilizing the region. . . .
Feeling the pressure of sanctions on Iran, Hassan Nasrallah, the leader of Iran’s proxy, Hizballah, has also called on his group’s fundraising arm “to provide the opportunity for jihad with money and also to help with this ongoing battle.”
Read more on Gatestone: https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/14126/the-us-sanctions-on-mullahs-are-working