The Real News: Phyllis Bennis: 'Sanctions Against Iranian Banks is Economic Warfare'

Source:The Real News Network with a look at American & European sanctions against the Islamic Republic of Iran.

"Phyllis Bennis: Excluding Iranian banks from the SWIFT system of interbank transfers helped cause a devaluation of Iranian currency and great hardship for ordinary people." 

From The Real News

If you are familiar with the term collateral damage, you know the consequences of economic sanctions. When a rogue state, like the Islamic Republic of Iran, is sponsoring private terrorists organizations, that target the West, you have to expect the European Union, United Kingdom, and the United States, are going to have real issues with that and will respond with real consequences against that rogue regime. 

When a rogue regime first decides whether to not to take action, like sponsoring private terrorists groups, to hit western targets, or western allies in the Middle East, they first decide if their regime, not the people, can afford the negative reactions that will come from their sponsorship of terrorism. 

Phyllis Bennis is right about one key point here: it's not the Iranian theocratic regime that's suffering from western sanctions against Iran. It's the people that are suffering from the bad decisions of their own government (as I would put it) and the international sanctions that have come as a result. But the Iranian regime probably already took into the costs of their sponsorship of terrorism, before they decided to do that and decided it was worth it for their regime, even if their people can't afford it.