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US sanctions fail to contain Iran’s regional power: Commentator

Monday, 19 November 2018 1:13 PM [ Last Update: Monday, 19 November 2018 1:49 PM ]

The United States has long been seeking to "contain" Iran’s regional power, says a political commentator, adding that Washington is using sanctions as “leverage” against the Islamic Republic.

“The results earned by [US President] Donald Trump after he withdrew from the nuclear deal, in the first six months for specific reasons, the results made him joyful but now he has come to realize that the sanctions would not bring him victory in the fight against Iran. This doesn’t mean that he has lost hope. My assessment is that he would continue this economic war at least for the next one year to eventually come to realize that the sanctions would not work and may not contain Iran’s power,” Mostafa Khoshcheshm told Press TV in an interview on Monday.

The comments came after Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said the United States was wishfully thinking that it could subdue Iran with economic and psychological strain, emphasizing that Iran would not yield to such pressure.

In an address to a large gathering of people in the city of Khoy, West Azarbaijan Province, on Monday, President Rouhani said the US was wrong to think Iran would surrender under pressure, according to excerpts of his remarks posted on the official website of the Iranian Presidency.

The US has unilaterally withdrawn from a multilateral nuclear deal with Iran, imposing sanctions on Tehran, including on its oil sales, and declaring that it would bring the country's crude exports to “zero.” But the US has been forced to issue waivers to Iran’s major oil clients to prevent a huge spike in oil prices, according to Brian Hook, the US special representative for Iran.

The US withdrawal and the sanctions have caused some difficulties for Iran and its other partners in the nuclear deal — namely the United Kingdom, France, Russia, China, Germany, and the European Union— but they are working to shield their trade relations and the deal from American sabotage.