The new sanctions Iran provoked with its defiant nuclear program are starting to "bite," says the Obama administration, citing Tehran's increasingly belligerent rhetoric. After President Obama signed a bill on New Year's Eve calculated to cut into Iran's oil trade — 60 percent of its economy — the country's currency plummeted to a record low. And Europe is talking about imposing similar penalties. Iran's foreign minister insisted the depreciation had nothing to do with the U.S. law, noting that the penalties the U.S. law imposes against countries doing business with Iran have yet to take effect. But do Tehran's saber rattling and economic troubles prove international pressure is finally starting to work?
Obama is hitting Iran where it hurts: "The sanctions Obama has introduced and has encouraged other nations to adopt are tougher" than any Iran has ever faced, says Ron Kampeas at the Jewish Telegraphic Agency (JTA), as they will make it impossible for most buyers to pay for Iranian crude. They clearly are "biting the Iranian economy." And with the Fifth Fleet backing up the economic pressure by "flexing its muscle in the Persian Gulf," Tehran has good reason to be nervous.
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