Sanctions against Iran are Not Working

“Sanctioned countries generally establish backchannels to receive food, fuel and other necessities. Iran’s economy is reportedly suffering because of pressures from the West, but the country hardly needs secret channels to sustain a flow of essential goods. Russia, China and others maintain very pubic, commercial relations despite American protestation.” (Leonard A. Cole, in Homeland Security News Wire)

Sanctions against Iran are not working: they have not led to a change of Iranian policy and have not stopped the advancement of its nuclear programme. As Leonard Cole put it, Iran has found ways to circumvent sanctions by keeping society with Russia, China and other nations; that, in my opinion, sell Iranian oil (as its own) and raise funds for its beloved projects.

According to Ely Karmon, Iran has been consolidating the Islamic Republic’s strategy for Africa and for that President Ahmadinejad “has agreed to provide African nations with essential resources to facilitate their development and progress”.

The development and progress of African nations, however, is not quite what Iran has in mind when it cements a relationship with the sub-Saharan Africa – Iran mainly seeks to finance its nuclear programme (by acquiring strategic resources like uranium). For example: Zimbabwe is wealthy in uranium reserves and, she passes it on to Iran in exchange of funds, technical knowledge (from technicians most probably educated in Latin-American countries, including Brazil, with whom Iran keeps good political and commercial ties) and equipment required to extract uranium ore.

Iran has also found ways to trade its oil production despite sanctions. Reports suggest that Iran sells oil to Nigeria but, it shouldn’t be discarded the theory that Nigeria sells Iranian oil as if it were its own; as probably do Iraq and Saudi Arabia (as part of the backchannel established to circumvent penalties).

In the past decade, over $20Bn in international aid have been donated to Palestine with the goal of “combating, neutralising and preventing terrorism against Israel from the Islamist group Hamas (..); creating a virtuous cycle of stability and prosperity in the West Bank that inclines Palestinians (…) toward peaceful coexistence with Israel and prepares them for self-governance; and meeting humanitarian needs and preventing further destabilization, particularly in the Gaza Strip.” These goals have utterly failed.

On April 27/2011; Fatah and Hamas signed a unity agreement. On January 23/2012; the US and the EU toughened the sanctions against Iran by blocking its access to the world financial system. On February 12, Hamas visits Iran and Fatah visits Qatar. On February 28, Hamas moves its H.Q. to Qatar. From March 9-29, Gaza launched over 300 grad missiles, qassam rockets and mortar shells attacks on Israel. Meanwhile, on March 20, Fatah (in a disinformation tactic) denounces Iran for having paid Hamas to block a unity deal (to prove its distance from Iran). On March 22, Fatah urges international donors to “channel the promised funds immediately”. [N.B: from February 13 to March 19, while all the above was going on, terror attacks with the Iranian stamp were being carried out in India, Georgia, Thailand and France (Toulouse)]

There are no coincidences and, as such, the concatenation of these events seem to suggest that Fatah has always been in bed with (Hamas and) Iran; and that international donors, through Palestine, have been (and still are) funding Iranian terrorist projects or even contributing for the enhancement of its nuclear programme.

Sanctions are not hindering Iranian ambitions; and war is exactly what Iran wants. So, what are the options?