US experts warn against Iran sanctions

Tue, 06 Nov 2007 01:47:20

Imposing new sanctions against Iran hurts the US. The US think-tanks have warned that imposing sanctions against Iran's oil sector could hurt the United States' economy more than Iran's. With oil prices at record levels, the US has little room to maneuver in imposing new sanctions against Iran, the AP reported. "If Iran sees USD 100 a barrel oil, Iran is likely to conclude, and it may well be true, that no matter how severe the US sanctions are. . . [Iran can stand them]'' said Matthew Levitt, a former US Treasury Department terrorism expert, who is now with the Washington Institute for Near East Policy. "Unless there is a major land and naval blockade, there are always going to be buyers for Iranian oil,'' said Karim Sadjadpour, an Iran expert who works at the Washington-based Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. Sadjadpour has claimed that a more productive form of pressure against Iran would be a lowering of world oil prices, overall. "If you can get oil down to USD 60 [per barrel], their (Iran's) calculation might change,'' he said. The US has stepped up its economic sanctions against Iran and is trying to lobby other countries to do the same, which has been strongly objected by countries such as Russia and China. MGH/MMN