Latest sanctions on Iran risk strengthening Tehran and undermining US credibility

The United States has announced its latest plan to put maximum economic pressure on Iran. Launching “Operation Economic Outcast” on August 24, the US treasury secretary, Scott Bessent, said the plan would involve the “toughest sanctions in history” against Iran. The US objective is ambitious. To economically isolate Tehran, punish countries that continue trading with it and achieve through financial pressure what nearly six months of military confrontation have failed to deliver. Bessent said…