Hillary Clinton announced on Tuesday that the five permanent members of the U.N. Security Council — the U.S., France, UK, China and Russia — have agreed on a draft resolution to impose new nuclear sanctions on Iran, including a ban on selling heavy weapons to the country. The announcement came as a rejection of Iran's recently announced deal to send half its nuclear fuel to Turkey. Will the new sactions put the brakes on Iran's nuclear ambitions, or just further isolate the country?
Sanctions will make things worse: These new sanctions are a "blunder," says M.J. Rosenberg at Talking Points Memo. Iran's deal with Turkey (which the U.S. "strongly promoted") was a clear attempt to legitimize its nuclear ambitions. "At the very least," it could have led to the "renewal of talks." But instead, we insist on sanctions that will "strengthen a teetering dictatorship" by galvanizing support for it in the Middle East.
"No, Hillary, sanctions don't work"
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
We need to show some force, not sanctions: Obama's Iran policy relies "far too much on carrots," says Benny Avni in the New York Post. By putting all of our "punitive eggs in the UN basket," the U.S. has opened the door for Turkey and other players to give Iran cover. These latest sanctions won't change anything. We need to "hint at military action," or say "hello to Iran's nuclear future."
These sanctions should just be the beginning: Iran's deal with Turkey was a "nuclear sleight of hand," says an editorial in the Chicago Tribune. But, to the credit of the Security Council, "no-one was fooled" — and these latest sanctions should be followed by "still tougher measures," like a gasoline embargo. At long last, the U.S. and its allies "showed some spine." Let's see more of it.
-
Is hands-off investing the way to go?The Explainer In many cases, your money might be better off left alone
-
Sloth fever shows no signs of slowing downThe explainer The vector-borne illness is expanding its range
-
'With every technological advance, there are risks'Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
