Sanctions pressure backfired by accelerating Iran’s nuclear program

Evidence

Despite Iran’s economic crisis, it retained support from its regional allies as well as Russia and China. Moreover, it accelerated its nuclear program in defiance of the United States. As Middle East scholar Vali Nasr of the liberal interventionist camp wrote: … The Trump administration has taught Iran—and all aspirants seeking to join the nuclear club—the wrong lessons: that they should have a bigger nuclear program before talking, negotiate incrementally, and give up nuclear assets slowly lest sanctions come back. — Deepa Kumar, Islamophobia and the Politics of Empire, 535

Categorization

Category: Causal Relationships

Related

• Sanctions threats incentivize proliferators to build larger nuclear programs before negotiating. (similarity 0.89)
• Sanctions crippled Iran’s economy but failed to alter its foreign policy (similarity 0.86)
• Maximum-pressure sanctions contracted Iran’s economy by 4.8 and 9.5 percent in 2018-2019 (similarity 0.80)
• Iranians hold the nuclear program sacred for status, not destructive capability (similarity 0.78)