The Goal of the United States’ Sanctions against Iran

 

After the victory of the Islamic Revolution, Iran, on the one hand, left the United States’ sphere of influence and no longer sought alignment and cooperation with this country, and on the other hand, emerged as an independent country in the politics of Southwest Asia. The context of power in Iran shifted from reliance on “foreign powers,” “security organizations” and “military capabilities” to reliance on religious, cultural, national and regional capacities. The policy of the Islamic Republic was also changed on the basis of the principle “Neither East nor West” thereby influencing the balance of power of the superpowers in one of the most important strategic regions in the world.

 

According to American experts, the United States’ vast oil reserves will soon be depleted, and therefore the Persian Gulf oil resources are of vital value to the United States. The victory of the Islamic Revolution raised the United States’ concern that Iran would take control of the oil-rich Persian Gulf region. The Islamic Revolution of Iran became a catastrophe for the United States and was Carter’s greatest defeat during his administration. What terrified the United States most was Islam.

 

On the other hand, the impact of the Islamic Revolution of Iran on the countries of the region and the emergence of the wave of Islamism within these countries were of great concern to the United States. The United States feared that the liberating message of Islam would jeopardize its interests in West Asia and, over time, throughout the Muslim world, even in Africa and Latin the United States, the countries that hated American domination but had not tried to find a way out. 

 

After Iran students seized the United States embassy in Tehran (known as the “Den of Spies”), the United States could no longer intervene in Iran’s affairs. For this reason, the United States while organizing various conspiracies to bring back Iran to its pre-revolutionary state, started economic and political pressures to bring the revolutionary government of Iran to its knees. Also, the United States made extensive use of the military methods including the Nojeh coup plot and the invasion of Tabas to confront the Islamic Republic of Iran and overthrow the government, but divine grace and help as well as the confusion of American politicians thwarted these conspiracies. After the Revolution, the United States sought to dismantle the military capabilities of Iran by cutting off its military and advisory ties established between the two countries. This marked the beginning of the United States arms embargoes on Iran. 

 

The United States Sanctions against Iran 

 

A few days before the victory of the Islamic Revolution and with the arrival of Imam Khomeini (RA) in Iran, the United States government forced Shapur Bakhtiar to terminate the contracts it had signed with Iran and even received the money, including the ones related to the F.M.S Agreement, selling F16 aircraft, Phoenix missiles with a range of about 200 miles, submarines and other advanced weapons such as warships. On February 3, 1979, the United States cancelled an agreement to provide Iran with a total of 16 RF4E aircraft, 7 AWACS, 160 F16 aircraft, 170 Phoenix missiles, 174 Torpedo missiles, 60 Harpoon surface-to-air missiles, 66 Harpoon surface-to-air missiles and 83 RGM Harpoon missiles.

 

With the victory of the Islamic Revolution, the United States sanctions on the oil industry continued through summoning foreign experts, avoiding providing necessary infrastructure for this industry, and depriving the country of the information that had been collected about the discovery of new oil resources. As a result, Iran’s crude oil export suddenly fell from 4 million barrels per day during the years before the Revolution, to less than 1 million. Oil and economic embargoes (blocking Iran’s financial deposits in world banks), imposing a ban on importing goods from Iran, political sanctions and arms embargoes were among the United States sanctions against Iran during the Carter administration.

 

After taking the office, Reagan has repeatedly stated that unlike what happened under the Carter administration, he will no longer allow the global reputation of the United States to be tarnished and that the country has seemed weak in the face of Iran.

 

To that end, he used all kinds of conspiracies in order to, as the Western theorists have put it, “break the shackles of the Iranian regime.” The United States sought to bring Iran to its knees by launching a comprehensive and continuous attack against the Islamic Revolution in all military, political, economic, and cultural aspects, mobilizing all international benefactors in the Eastern and Western blocs and employing all available facilities (Schultz Strategy). The United States promised that it would end Iran’s sanctions if American hostages were released. Nonetheless, with the release of the hostages in early 1981, only the United States’ export restrictions on Iran were eased. However, Iran was still able to purchase products and spare parts through middlemen until 1984 when it could no longer do so.

 

During the Iran-Iraq war, the United States imposed a unilateral embargo called “Operation Staunch” to prevent Iran from gaining access to dual-purpose weapons.

The Impacts of United States Sanctions against Iran

 

1) Political Impacts:

The most important political consequence of imposing sanctions against Iran was that the United States failed to achieve its main goal of overthrowing the Islamic Republic of Iran. Therefore, American thinkers and senior officials realized that sanctions are not a good tool for overthrowing and isolating Iran and that they have serious consequences for the United States.

 

2) Economic Impacts:

The United States and Western countries sought to change the culture of the countries towards consumerism by imposing sanctions on them. Imam Khomeini (RA) believed that in order to achieve full independence, the country should break free of dependency on the United States in political, incidental, military and cultural fields, and in the meantime, utilize internal capacities in order to reach self-sufficiency in the above-mentioned fields.

 

Recalling the dependence and lack of self-reliance of the people that caused by the improper and wrong prevailing policies and attitudes of the Pahlavi regime, Imam Khomeini (RA) called on the people to be patient in the face of the pressure of sanctions and considered gaining self-sufficiency as the only way to achieve independence.

 

He believed that the economic siege is a divine gift by which the spirit of self-confidence will be strengthened. Comparing the Iranian nation with European nations, he said: “It is important to realize that others will not give us anything”; “If the farmers understand that the foreigners would not give us anything, they themselves start working.”

 

According to Imam Khomeini’s view regarding the importance of self-sufficiency, “it is a hundred times better to live under all kinds of adversity and hardship but to have a life of freedom and independence… than living in grand apartments with hands spread out for help toward others and by bowing before them.”

 

Countering the United States Economic Sanctions Policy in Iran

 

One of the important and historical measures of Imam Khomeini (RA) was issuing the order of the establishment of the Jahad-e Sazandegi on June 17, 1979. The aim of the order was to meet the general needs of the people, especially regarding strategic products such as wheat, overcoming the backwardness the country was experiencing since the Pahlavi regime, confronting American conspiracies and moving towards self-sufficiency. Imam Khomeini (RA) emphasized the need to pay attention to animal husbandry and agriculture, non-reliance on oil revenues, and utilizing the public capabilities and power of thought. Also, he stressed that the economic sanction does not mean all doors are closed. Imam Khomeini (RA) used to inform people about the blessings of labour forces, land, water, and so on.

 

To prevent the crisis caused by external pressures, Imam Khomeini (RA) encouraged people to spend money on meeting the basic needs of the nation instead of making the religiously recommended journeys. In 1988, he tasked the Prime Minister with pricing the basic goods in order to reduce the effects of sanctions and the imposed war.

 

During this period, despite the pressures of sanctions, Iran’s agricultural production was increased and even their qualities were improved. Many villagers, who had abandoned farming due to the wrong policies of the Shah’s regime before the Revolution, began farming again. For example, the residents of the village of Karim in Ramhormoz, after nine years, decided to plant rice. At that time, the then government asked the Islamic Consultative Assembly to decide on the country’s foreign exchange budget. In addition, the government created the “Ministry of Supporting the Production.” Moreover, by ­­systematically supporting domestic production, the government made the issue of producing goods visible in all areas of Iranian collective life.

 

Following Imam Khomeini’s guidelines regarding contentment and economy, the people also rushed to face the sanctions.

 

He said in this regard: “Extravagance, wastefulness and consumerism would facilitate failure and humiliation. And this is a rational thing that does not need reasoning and argument ... A nation that aims to achieve economic self-sufficiency and prosperity has to be prepared for enduring hardships, avoid unnecessary needs as well as welfare and enjoyment, and seek to reach dignity at the expense of temporary pleasures.”

 

Imam Khomeini’s statements regarding the need to have a self-sufficient industry and his remarks about hard work and domestic production were very effective in this regard. For example, naming a day as the day of economic battle by the government, developed a rivalry between the factories in terms of the improvement of and increasing the production capacities.

 

Despite rising inflation and economic pressure caused by sanctions during the Iran-Iraq war, the arms imports in the last two years of the war cost Iran less than $1.5 billion. The ban on arms sales to Iran during the war and at a time when the country needed weapons, led the country to start pursuing the policy of producing the conventional weapons domestically such that Iran’s defence industry created well-paid jobs and hence the country managed to even export such products.

 

Regarding self-sufficiency during the war, Imam Khomeini (RA) said: “You all saw during the imposed war and because of the economic sanctions imposed upon us, how the Iranians and our army personnel managed to manufacture all the needed spare parts. In the earlier days, they could not even produce one of these parts.”

 

Iran was able to solve part of this problem by finding new oil markets. In 1986, for example, it exported several shipments of crude oil to Nicaragua that were worth approximately $53 million.

 

The result is that the years 1983-1986 which marked the occurrence of major phenomena such as Operation Bayt al-Moqaddas (April 30, 1982), the recognition of Iran in the international community as a stable and invincible country in the face of foreign aggression and the economic stabilization of the country, can be called a period of economic prosperity. 

 

3) Cultural and Psychological Impacts:

A) Strengthening the People’s Belief in Preserving the Ideal and Values ​​of the Revolution:

By imposing economic sanctions on Iran, the United States sought to disturb the people’s access to essential and basic goods and cause dissatisfaction among them with the continuation of such sanctions so that gradually public discontent will be increased. This policy did not work because the people’s belief in Islam and the ideals of the Revolution helped them to resist the hardships and pressures caused by the sanctions.

 

B) Strengthening the Spirit of Self-Confidence and Self-Esteem:

The United States’ sanctions against Iran only aimed at disappointing people’s hope of the Revolution. Also, the United States sought to make Iran dependent through imposing economic pressure. Imam Khomeini’s statements taught people that instead of fearing sanctions, they should build the country and become self-sufficient by courage and relying on God and Islamic teachings. As a result, Clawson said, “Iranians’ high level of self-confidence undermines sanctions.”

 

D) Negative Impacts of Imposing Sanctions on Iran:

The oil embargo can greatly affect Iran’s economic situation. However, Iran has not been severely affected by such embargoes because there is no monopoly in this economic field and the United States is unable to impose a comprehensive sanction on this area. Following the Tanker War and the damage inflicted on Iranian tankers, the attacks Iraq carried out against Iran’s industrial and economic centres, as well as United States sanctions and intense international pressure and its direct confrontation with the country, Iran faced a severe economic recession, a sharp drop in oil prices and revenues so that in 1988, oil prices fell to less than $10.

 

Because the United States dominated the currency exchanges in all parts of the world and also threatened all countries that they would be punished if they establish financial relations with Iran, any currency exchange with this country became impossible, such that the government was forced to offer oil in exchange of goods.

 

The Impacts and Consequences of Sanctions at the International Level 

 

Oil cartels and multi-national companies have taken advantage of the Iran-Iraq war which resulted in halting the oil exports of the two countries and the increase of cheap oil produced by Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. Iran could jeopardize their interests by closing the Strait of Hormuz. However, it did not take such a step despite a lot of pressure, because the security of waterways was in line with its general policy.

Historical experience shows that unilateral trade sanctions are not fully effective. Being aware of this, the United States immediately after the meeting of the Security Council, took steps to enlist the support of its allies to increase Iran’s economic sanctions. But the United States’ European allies, despite their sympathy, did not agree that strong economic and political sanctions on Iran would be helpful. They did not want to jeopardize their political and economic interests in the Persian Gulf. Some also stressed the need for a Security Council resolution, because, without oil imports from the Persian Gulf, the free economy of the United States’ European allies would be destroyed.

 

Only Canada has declared its full support for the United States. When facing the doubts and uncertainties of United States allies which were rooted in their fear of losing access to Iran’s oil, Carter tried to threaten them with a naval blockade of Iran that would completely cut off Iran’s oil export to Europe, but they did not take such a threat seriously. The cessation of Iran’s oil exports was a disaster for Europe. As the United States Secretary of Energy James Schlesinger, while addressing a Senate committee, stated that suspension of Iran’s exports would pose greater risks than the 1973 Arab oil embargo; because of the shortage of oil in the world market during the Arab oil embargo against the United States in 1973 was only two million barrels per day. During the Tanker War, Britain called on France to refrain from selling bombers to Iraq because if Iran decided to close the Strait of Hormuz the whole world would face oil shortages.

 

Imam Khomeini (RA) explained this matter: “Carter assumes that all countries are in his hand like a ring. For example; if he mentioned depriving us of buying wheat, all other countries would pay respect and abide by his orders. He became aware that he is not followed even in his own country. His Secretary of Agriculture has informed him that his decision is not sound one.” One of the reasons for the United States’ insistence on signing a peace agreement between Iran and Iraq and the 598 UN Resolution was that it failed to persuade its allies to stop selling weapons to Iran.  

 

The Consequences of Sanctions for the United States

 

As a result of the sanctions, many of the Iranian government’s contracts with foreign companies were cancelled, a few were extended, and many others were suspended. The value of the cancelled non-military agreements was about $38 billion and the United States-Iran arms deal was worth up to $15 billion excluding many agreements on providing related services.

 

Unemployment was therefore one of the effects that the United States economy faced because of imposing sanctions against Iran. Scowcroft believes that the only clear effect of imposing sanctions on Iran is the punishment of American companies and the isolation of the United States instead of the isolation of Iran; because by adopting this policy, the United States has paid a high price, lost access to the important markets of Central Asia and also its policies in Southwest Asia have reached a dead end.

When the United States is defeated or humiliated by Iran, it would choose sanctions as a punishment. According to one American researcher, when the Presidents and members of Congress do not react properly in the face of international phenomena, they will pretend that unilateral sanctions are important and justified both domestically and internationally.

 

On the other hand, the United States considers the economic blockade as a suitable tool for putting pressure on Iran or any other targeted sanctioned country so that they would not become a potential and serious threat. That is why the United States continues imposing sanctions on Iran.

 

Reference: Journal of Islamic Revolutionary Studies. Vol. 12, No. 43, Winter 2016, Pages 63-82.

 

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