Sanctions and the Iranian Regime.

• Author: Sempa, Francis P.
• Position: Brief article

Sanctions and the Iranian Regime

By Ray Takeyh, Senior Fellow, Council on Foreign Relations

Text: http://www.cfr.org/iran/sanctions-strategy-implementation-enforcement/p28387

In testimony before the House Foreign Affairs Committee, Ray Takeyh explained the domestic political considerations among Iran's leaders that "are likely to complicate Tehran's path to a settlement" of the nuclear issue.

The key figure in the Iranian leadership, Ali Khamenei, according to Takeyh, "needs America as an enemy and a robust nuclear infrastructure to legitimize his rule." Khamaenei's dilemma, however, is that the pursuit of nuclear weapons threatens to further erode Iran's economy due to Western sanctions, and a collapse of Iran's economy could end his rule.

Takeyh explained that more than thirty years after the Islamic Revolution, Iran maintains its...