Sanctions in Iran and its Increasing Consequences

         One of the major reasons the US government imposed sanctions against Iran, which also required the rest of the U.N.S.C to follow their steps, is because the I.A.E.A believes Iran has the capability to make nuclear weapons, but does not know if Iran will decide to do so, saying it’s ultimately a matter of Iranian political will. On the other hand, Iran disapproves of the claim and argues that as a signatory to the nuclear NPT and a member of the I.A.E.A, it has the right to develop and acquire nuclear technology for peaceful purposes. But the problem is that the US does not know if Iran is going to build a nuclear weapon for sure, thus they decided to cut all sanctions to mainly prevent the import of Uranium and other components, in addition to limiting their oil export. It feels as if history is repeating itself, because a similar threat happened with Iraq (and it turned out that Iraq had no means of possessing High Energy Uranium, due to sanctions, therefore, they could not build their N.W) but the U.N.S.C took it too far through the US engineered sanctions, which is putting the lives of Millions of patients suffering from rare diseases in Iran due to the lack of medications and medical supplies. (My gosh Chemotherapy costs $67,000 there !!!) "The US-engineered sanctions are putting the lives of Iranian patients in jeopardy. Though the US has not imposed any bans on American firms to sell medicine and medical supplies to Iran, exporters have been required to apply for special licenses. In the wake of the sanctions, the impossibility of transferring money through banks has cast its shadow upon medicine and healthcare in Iran, thereby jeopardizing the lives of millions of patients suffering from special diseases such as thalassemia, hemophilia, hepatitis, multiple sclerosis, diabetes, and many others." Says Russia's Permanent Representative to the United Nations- Vitaly Churkin.
I think this conflict has gone way too far. Data released by the US Department of Commerce on February 8, 2013 shows that exports of pharmaceutical products to Iran had decreased by half despite Washington’s claims that ‘punitive measures’ have no humanitarian consequences- Press-TV.
What happened is that due to these sanctions, it has become nearly impossible to transfer money through banks, Which is how exporters make their money when selling their medicine, In addition even those exporters that just want to do it for humanitarian reasons have to apply for special license, thus their numbers have decreased.

I do think however, that using sanctions is better than military tactics which could help persuade Iran for an agreement. Yet I still don't understand why Iran wouldn't just cooperate and abandon their quest for N.W and start using their oil rich economy export to benefit their country and the people. When we think how almost the same situation occurred with Saddam Hussein when he failed to clarify his intentions on the supposed Iraqi Nuclear threat, consequently leading to an unnecessary invasion by the US.
One would argue; if only Iran could at least back-up for now from their claim of "We are only acquiring nuclear technology for peaceful purposes," and make the real peace with their citizens who are suffering due to the immoral actions of their leaders. Imagine how such an oil rich country can benefit its citizens and the rest of the world from exporting it.
According to the Iran Primer, "Iran is the second largest OPEC producer and the fifth largest globally (after Russia, Saudi Arabia, the United States and China). In 2010, it produced some 3.7 million barrels per day." As opposed to currently, Iran exported 1.4 million barrels per day in December 2012. If the Sanctions continues to take place that number will soon reach the thousands.
Analysts said President Ahmadinejad's blunt acknowledgment in his speech that sanctions were devastating the economy is a signal that Iran is seeking a deal. "Iranian officials have concluded that they are at an economic dead end and would really like to negotiate. They just haven't figured out how and where to compromise yet," said Fereydoun Khavand, an economy professor specializing on Iran at Université Paris Descartes. Moreover, President Ahmadinejad said Iran came down to three options in dealing with the West: 1-submit to pressure, 2-continue the Status quo, or 3- embark on major overhaul of its economy. He said the only feasible choice is the third one. How could a president with only six months of term left be able to proceed with such a strategy? (unless he has a successor ally.) It appears that recently Iran has reached a deal on a certain date to restart nuclear talks with the permanent members of the U.N.S.C + Germany. Still,any deal would need approval by Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, confusing as their situation is, one can only hope this would reach a practical solution soon.(Improbable)

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