Tougher U.S. and European sanctions against Iran might be hitting its economy, with fears of looming inflation and cuts in food and gas subsidies. But that doesn’t mean the Islamic Republic is out of friends; far from it. Even the U.S.’s close allies in Europe have stopped short of cutting their relations with Iran, allowing it to continue its trade in oil and gas. And on Iran’s other flank, it is cementing alliances with Asian countries, which are eager to build links with one of the world’s biggest oil producers and are angling to snap up contracts abandoned by departing Western companies. “The Chinese and especially the Malaysians have been buying up Iran’s oil assets recently, and reselling a lot of Iranian oil,” says Philippe Vasset, editor of the Paris-based newsletter Intelligence Online, which monitors energy deals. “Many of the tough sanctions against Iran are in fact U.S. sanctions.”
