Pars Today

Pars Today- The United States, in order to gain its hegemonic goals, has the highest record of imposition of unilateral sanctions against other countries.

The American daily Washington Post, in a recent report, referring to US' enforcement of sanction as a weapon, admitted, "Washington has resorted to sanction against its rivals and enemies in such an unbridled manner that one third of all world countries have been targeted with Washington's sanctions." According to Pars Today, the released statistics indicate that Russia has been the main target of US sanctions in the world.

From February 2022 to January 2024, the US has sanctioned more than 16 thousand persons, 9 thousand companies and over 3,200 institutions affiliated to Russia. Moreover, Iran, Venezuela and Cuba are among other countries which have been under the US sanctions for long.

Record of sanctions and reverse effect

As a matter of fact, the US has been exploiting sanction as an economic and political weapon against countries which do not capitulate to Washington's policies. Washington Post, in an analysis on the issue, wrote that since 1990s, successive administrations in the US have turned economic war and punishments into a main tool of their foreign policy.

The policy of sanction has drawn the attention of the American officials while it has been ineffective for many countries and not only it has not secured the US interests, but also it has caused those countries to change their policies, to choose multilateralism and increase regional cooperation within the framework of regional unions and establishments.

Washington Post admits that most of the American sanctions have not only been ineffective but also had opposite effects.

Dollar as a tool for sanctions

The US has made instrumental use of dollar as the major international currency to pressure other countries.

Washington has several times abused the dependence of international companies, banks and financial systems on dollar as a lever to force other countries to capitulate to its excessive demands or prevent them from pursuing the policies or measures that are not desirable for the US. Particularly during the recent years, this has caused the reciprocal reaction of opponents and even Washington's European allies and led to the gradual formation of a global unison on the need to impede the continuation of the US instrumental usage of dollar with the aim of exerting economic, commercial and financial pressure against other countries, especially those who are opposed to or rival of the US.

Washington Post makes it clear that the sanctions, which were imposed for decades on North Korea, have failed to prevent Pyongyang from advancing its arms programs and developing its continental ballistic missile capabilities.

The US sanctions against Nicaragua and Cuba have also failed to weaken the "undesirable" governments in these countries led by Daniel Ortega and Fidel Castro or to decrease their popular support.

As about Iran, too, the US Secretary of Treasury, Janet Yellen, admitted a while ago that sanctions have caused Iran to change its policies and conduct in a way that the US had not expected.

The US Treasury Department reported that all countries, which have somehow been sanctioned by the US, are producing more than one fifth of the global GDP and %80 of this figure is the share of China. Yet, this policy seems more inefficient day by day.

Insistence on continuation of sanction policy

In spite of the failure of the US policy of sanctions, Washington uses this tool to pressure different countries, especially those which are opposed to or noncompliant with its hostile policies. This is while, these policies have not only decreased the US power in the international arenas and caused the growth of many sanctioned countries, but also provided conditions for trade out of the reach of the US.

Washington Post continues that a bulk of former US lobbyists and officials have gained colossal profits from thousands of sanctions imposed by the US on its rivals and enemies.

Although unilateralism and escape from multilateralism and international commitments by different American administrations have been effective on global security and stability and the international atmosphere, various countries now act independently and opposite to the policies sanctioned by the US. These conditions have just undermined the US power in the world arena, as Agathe Demarais, who leads the work of the European Council of foreign relations, writes in her book, "In the recent years, we have seen that sanction has turned into the favorable diplomatic tool for the American politicians. But sanctions are ineffective tools and too much reliance on sanctions policies has reduced its effectiveness and significance in the international atmosphere."

Key phrases: weapon of dollar, US sanctions, Russia and US, Iran and US, US Treasury Department

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