The United States' new sanctions on Iran are unlikely to achieve their objectives for a number of reasons, provided appropriate approaches are adopted by Tehran, a political analyst said.
After withdrawing from the 2015 multinational nuclear deal, the US reimposed sanctions that it claimed will be the harshest ever to press Iranian authorities to come to the negotiating table once again for more concessions.
Amir Dabiri has enumerated three reasons why the so-called "toughest sanctions" will be ineffective.
In a recent article published by Iranian Diplomacy, he initially drew attention to the role of American private sector that holds 85-90% of the country's economy, amounting to $15 trillion.
This sector, according to Dabiri, acts in accordance with its own interests and does not necessarily conform to short-term policies of the administration, although it may be affected by them.
"The American private sector does not necessarily approve of the government's approaches and its sanctions campaign against Iran. An evidence of this came at the time of the 2012 sanctions when a number of American companies lobbied with the Senate and obtained authorization to cooperate with several Iranian firms and continued their partnership," he wrote.
Besides, the 2012 sanctions were backed by the United Nations Security Council and were more binding while the current measures are only unilateral and lack legal authority.
"Therefore, American enterprises are highly likely to take the same approach on condition that they do not face objection from the Iranian side," he said.
Moreover, there is no consensus within the US government concerning hostile policies toward Iran.
There is a certain political current, according to Dabiri, that opposes the sanctions by arguing that they deprive American investors of the Iranian market.
> European Backing
A second obstacle to the success of US measures is the European Union that has resisted its key ally's policies in an unprecedented move and is exploring ways of bypassing the sanctions.
"In the past, there was no such gap between the US and Europe with regard to Iran," the article reads.
Given the attitude adopted by EU governments, European enterprises will naturally take the initiative in circumventing the restrictions to maintain their mutual collaborations, he added.
Dabiri believes that European support will be even stronger in practice than what they announce, because they would normally avoid taking extreme anti-US positions so as not to provoke American stridency.
> Long Experience
The final impediment is inside Iran, which has undergone a 40-year history of US bellicosity under the influence of Arab and Israeli anti-Iran lobbies.
"State and private sectors in Iran have never seen amity or even indifference by the US and have always faced hostility and disruption that dates back 40 years [since the 1979 Islamic Revolution]."
The expert argues that Iran has become hardened and learned its way out of the sanctions, thanks to this long experience.
"Nevertheless, these predictions will only come true if Iran manages to retain its integrity, enhance management efficiency, uphold constructive international relations, pursue active media diplomacy and convince the public opinion inside Iran of its reliability," Dabiri concluded.
