Just two days after the US government imposed a new round of even more brutal sanctions on Iran’s economy, Saeed Jalili, Secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council expressed his nation’s desire to hold talks with the P5+1 nations this January. Iran had shown interest back in October 2012 but decided to wait for the US presidential elections to happen. One then wonders why the United States decided to act antagonistically? Did America doubt Iran’s intentions so much that it felt the need for additional sanctions to deliver the final nudge to bring Iran to talks?
History has witnessed the course of action US and its European allies have chosen when their efforts to engage with Iran have failed, namely sanctions. Recently however many dominant Asian powers have also agreed to resort to this method. America’s use of sanctions against Iran dates back to 1979. Over the years, it has refined the sanctions to target Iran’s nuclear and missile technologies as well as all those parties affiliated with this program. A number of financial sanctions have frozen any American assets held by these parties. It has also extended the sanctions to include any foreign entities engaged in aiding Iran’s nuclear aspirations. Since 2006, Iran’s major banks like Bank Saderat and Bank Melli, have also been subjected to sanctions. Companies having links to groups banned by UN sanctions were also targeted.
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