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U.S. Sanctions on Iran Are Working
(Wall Street Journal) Holman W. Jenkins, Jr. - One of the many benefits of the U.S. domestic oil resurgence is that we don't have to overreact to lesser disruptions of the oil flow from every regional spat. The world economy remains adequately supplied. If prices go up a bit, the U.S. now benefits as a major producer, offsetting some of the damage on the consumer side. There is no reason to oblige the Iranians in how we respond to the attack in Saudi Arabia. The Iranian goal is to lure the U.S. into a confrontation that Washington would eventually be wiling to pay to get out of, presumably by lifting sanctions and resuming the Iran nuclear deal payola. Sanctions have cut Iran's oil exports by 90% since April 2018. The regime is plodding toward a domestic crisis that Iran's leadership hopes it can escape by initiating provocations meant to suggest a wider war unless the U.S. backs down. Though more provocations may be coming, these would only make it tougher for any future president to cancel the sanctions and reinstate the nuclear deal. It's hard to see a way out of Iran's sanctions trap except by meeting U.S. demands to curb its obnoxious regional behavior.