US Sanctions on Iran Not Going to Work, CSIS Panelist Says

U.S. sanctions on Iran (see 1907080019) will not lead to a clear outcome, said Sarah Ladislaw, director of the Center for Strategic and International Studies Energy and National Security Program, adding that the U.S.’s failure may leave it without a contingency plan.

“I don’t think it’s going to work,” Ladislaw said, speaking during a July 31 CSIS panel. “I think we’ve just sort of found ourselves in this position where our maximum economic pressure strategy isn’t going to yield the desired outcome.”

Ladislaw said the U.S. sanctions may cause Iran to “stay off the oil market for a little while,” but may not succeed in driving Iran to negotiate a new Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action. “What are we going to do? What comes next?” Ladislaw said.

She also said a similar situation might arise in Venezuela, where the U.S. restricts the country’s oil trade but does little to cause significant change. “I still don’t know how the resolution in Venezuela is going to come about,” Ladislaw said. “This idea that patience will yield outcomes -- I think patience could also just yield stalemates.”