The recent economic approach of the United States against Iran should be evaluated from several perspectives.
first, it should be examined why this action is being taken in the current circumstances which indicate that after six months, the Americans have not been able to achieve their set goals in the military confrontation with Iran; and that while they have used all their military power, put regional and trans-regional intelligence and security services to work, and have benefited from the capacity of hostile currents.
They have used everything they thought could lead to "Iran's surrender"; however, not only did they not succeed in imposing defeat or surrender on the Iranian people, but their actions led to disruption in the global economy and a surge in oil prices following the blockage of the Strait of Hormuz and its intelligent management by Iran.
In addition, they have suffered heavy military defeats that they themselves admit; They experienced unprecedented human losses after the Vietnam War and lost a large part of their regional military bases—which they had built at great expense, training troops, and transferring extensive equipment over many years—to the point that these bases were destroyed or seriously damaged.
Therefore, American statesmen are trying to hide their military failures under the guise of a new economic narrative and strategy; in fact, given the increasing domestic pressure from public opinion, the Democratic Party, and the US Congress against the Trump administration for imposing heavy costs on this country, they have entered the economic phase in order to escape these pressures and maintain their vote base in the upcoming elections, in order to divert public opinion from military failures through widespread propaganda.
The second is to examine the possibility of implementing the announced sanctions; sanctions whose designers even stuttered and became ambiguous in response to questions from reporters. According to these sanctions, any country that has economic relations and exchanges with Iran will be subject to US sanctions. However, if the real capacity of the US to impose these sanctions is assessed, previous records show a different reality.
At the beginning of his presidency, Donald Trump announced in a threatening tone that the Panama Canal must be removed from China's influence and placed under US control, otherwise heavy tariffs would be imposed on this country. Then he imposed similar threats and tariffs against Canada, Mexico and other neighboring countries. However, today it can be seen that Washington's relations with Ottawa have become extremely fragile and the Canadian government has resisted these pressures; a country that has always been considered a traditional ally is now, with the support of its public opinion, resisting previous humiliating approaches.
In Mexico, these measures have also been ineffective, and the country has maintained its political and economic independence. Thus, the United States has failed to carry out sanctions and tariff threats even in its own neighborhood; on a higher level, the imposition of tariffs against China has also led to Beijing’s countermeasures; to the extent that Trump was forced to travel to China, and these tariff measures have harmed the US economy more than they have harmed China.
The imposition of tariffs against European countries has had a similar result; Washington’s hegemonic approach has caused the Europeans not only to not join in the measures against Iran, but also the NATO group to not join this campaign. This trend reveals the inability of the United States to impose its economic policies on other countries; now, in a situation where global dissatisfaction with US economic unilateralism has increased, the possibility of such plans against Iran’s success seems highly unlikely.
Third; If countries intend to join the sanctions against Iran, Tehran will also take countermeasures. Currently, the Persian Gulf countries have extensive trade exchanges with Iran; if the Strait of Hormuz is blocked, these countries will lose the possibility of trade and economic relations with outside the region. For example, the UAE is one of the major importers of food from Iran; as a result, the deprivation of imports from Iran, along with the lack of access to the Strait of Hormuz, will undoubtedly face this country with a serious crisis in the food supply chain, increasing inflation in this sector and harming other small industries.
On the other hand, China needs Iranian oil and has clearly stated that it will not participate in these sanctions. If the United States takes measures against Beijing, the Chinese side will take countermeasures; an action that is taken not only out of friendly ties with Iran, but also in order to protect its fundamental interests.
The situation in Russia is similar, and Moscow will never be burdened by Washington's imposed and sanctioned policies in the economic sphere. Other countries in the world also benefit from economic ties with Iran.
In recent decade, “national interests” have become the norm for governments, and countries are willing to protect their interests against pressure from major powers. The resistance of a country like Panama to Washington shows that even small political units are not willing to sacrifice their national interests for American interests.
Therefore, if Washington tries to confront all countries simultaneously to prevent economic exchanges with Iran, it will face defeat in the economic battle, just as it did in the military arena, and it must prepare itself to accept this defeat now.
The Trump administration came to power with the slogan of “America First”; a slogan that claimed to prioritize domestic interests, but in practice it has degenerated into an “America Only” approach; an approach that believes that only America has the right to prosperity and a decent life, and other international actors should simply execute its orders.
The international community did not accept this view, and as a result, the current stage has become one of "America alone" and isolation. In such circumstances, an isolated America will not achieve anything in advancing the recent sanctions policies.
MNA