I don’t know the answer to the question I’ve posted above, but today’s news may offer an indication:

The EU imposes new sanctions against Iran’s nuclear program and reaffirms its said commitment to reaching a peaceful, diplomatic solution:

…the objective of the EU remains to achieve a comprehensive, negotiated, long-term settlement, [...]]]> via Lobe Log

I don’t know the answer to the question I’ve posted above, but today’s news may offer an indication:

The EU imposes new sanctions against Iran’s nuclear program and reaffirms its said commitment to reaching a peaceful, diplomatic solution:

…the objective of the EU remains to achieve a comprehensive, negotiated, long-term settlement, which would build international confidence in the exclusively peaceful nature of the Iranian nuclear programme, while respecting Iran’s legitimate rights to the peaceful uses of nuclear energy in conformity with the NPT, and fully taking into account UN Security Council and IAEA Board of Governors’ Resolutions.

Israel nods approvingly but doesn’t rejoice:

[Benjamin] Netanyahu, speaking Tuesday at the start of a meeting in Jerusalem with European Union member state ambassadors, called the sanctions “tough” and said Iran was “the greatest threat to peace in our time.”

“These sanctions are hitting the Iranian economy hard, (but) they haven’t yet rolled back the Iranian program. We’ll know that they’re achieving their goal when the centrifuges stop spinning and when the Iranian nuclear program is rolled back,” he said.

As does the former EU and US terrorist-designated organization the Mujahadeen-e Khalq (aka MEK, NCRI, PMOI) while reaffirming its commitment to regime change in Iran:

Therefore, although comprehensive sanctions are an essential and indispensible element to stop the clerical regime’s nuclear weapons project, the ultimate and definitive solution for the world community to rid itself of the terrorist mullahs’ attempt to acquire nuclear weapons is a regime change by the Iranian people and Resistance. Thus, recognizing the Iranian people’s efforts to overthrow religious fascism and to establish democracy in Iran is more essential than ever.

Iran complains loudly while tooting its resistance regime horn and allegdly hitting back against cyber attacks waged against its nuclear program.

And all the while average Iranians (and terminally ill ones) continue to carry the brunt of the weight:

The measures come as Iran’s economy continues to reel in the wake of previous Western sanctions targeting the country’s crucial oil exports and access to international banking networks. Iranians are suffering economically amid inflation and the sharp devaluation of the Iranian currency against the dollar.

Shop owners in downtown Tehran said that prices had risen 50% since last month and that they were expecting things to only get worse.

Amir Mosayan, who sells watch batteries wholesale, said that immediately following the sanctions the price of his goods went up 70%.

 

Anyone who has ever felt the fear of flying needs to imagine what it must have been like to be in this Iran Air B727 when it landed without its two front tires! As someone who has been forced to travel in Iranian airplanes, I can tell you that this clip made my stomach [...]]]>

Anyone who has ever felt the fear of flying needs to imagine what it must have been like to be in this Iran Air B727 when it landed without its two front tires! As someone who has been forced to travel in Iranian airplanes, I can tell you that this clip made my stomach turn much more than it does when I fly in them.

Due to the pilot’s incredible skills, these passengers were relatively lucky, unlike the many Iranians that been killed in a series of frequent crashes that have occurred over the years, the last one taking the lives of 77 people earlier in January.

Iranian planes are very old and lack new parts for repairs and replacements due to sanctions which prevent the government and private Iranian companies from purchasing what’s needed to keep them safe and up to date. It’s too early to say exactly what forced the plane to land without its nose gear, but is this a likely scenario in countries that are allowed to properly tend to their passenger aircraft? Why don’t planes crash as often as they do in Iran in other oil rich countries such as Saudi Arabia or Egypt?

Whatever the reasons for this particular event, it once again raises the question of how sanctions against Iran are impacting ordinary Iranians. Last year Secretary of State Hillary Clinton explained that the U.S.’s “goal” was to “pressure the Iranian government, particularly the Revolutionary Guard elements, without contributing to the suffering of the ordinary [Iranians]” who she says “deserve better than what they currently are receiving.”

She reiterated this sentiment in a recent interview with BBC Persian about the U.S.’s new “virtual embassy in Tehran“, arguing that sanctions are intended to convince the Iranian regime to change its behavior. But that’s not what’s happening. Economic sanctions are not only preventing Iran from updating its aircraft, they’re also negatively affecting ordinary Iranians regardless of what the stated goals are. The U.S. says it has placed economic sanctions against Iran’s main airlines, Iran Air and Mahan Air because they have allegedly supported Iran’s military, but doesn’t that amount to collective punishment when the great majority of those affected are the average people who are forced to travel on them?

Everyday life in Iran can be suffocating for a variety of reasons and one of the few escapes people have is from traveling around the country for leisure, especially since many Iranians are denied travel visas from other countries that they want to visit.

Paul Pillar and other level-headed analysts have questioned the real aim and results of sanctions on Iran, and even Iranian dissidents have criticized them, especially the kind that affect average Iranians. Pillar argues that one of the reasons why sanctions aren’t working is because the strategy and end goal behind them is unclear.

So where is the U.S. going with its sanctions, especially with the broad ranging kind such as those which would target Iran’s central bank, a move which is currently being debated in the U.S. government? Will the Iranian government start submitting to Western demands and will ordinary Iranians rise up and bring down their government because much of the world is trying to crush it, or will they simply continue to suffer, as the U.S. grows more impatient and the measures taken against Iran become more militant?