Daily Alert Archives

Iran's Vulnerability to Foreign Economic Pressure

[Washington Institute for Near East Policy] Patrick Clawson - The current situation, in which Iran's economy is likely to do poorly in the next few years, is a perfect moment for the international community to impose additional sanctions on Iran. No longer can Iran offset the impact of those sanctions with a flood of oil income. There is excellent reason to expect that Iranian public opinion will blame the economic problems on hardliners' isolation of Iran from the international community. Foreign pressure cannot cause Iran's economy to collapse, but such pressure may contribute to the intense debate inside Iran about the wisdom of a confrontational and isolationist policy toward the international community. That debate offers the best prospect for a fruitful resolution of the nuclear impasse, because those who want Iran to join the world are not willing to pay a high price for a nuclear program that they increasingly see as part of the Ahmadinejad agenda, not part of a national project. From testimony by the Washington Institute's deputy director for research before the House Committee on Foreign Affairs on July 22.
2009-07-27 06:00:00
Full Article