IRAN is slowly suffocating from sanctions that are beginning to bite where the maverick state has been strongest: its energy sector.
The tougher set of sanctions imposed mid-year by the UN, the US, Australia and especially the European Union are aimed at preventing Iran from developing nuclear weapons. They are proving the most effective since more comprehensive sanctions triggered the downfall of the apartheid regime in South Africa.
Despite initial scepticism, the sanctions ensure that the price that Iran pays for building its bomb keeps climbing.
Last Friday, Japan joined in, tightening sanctions, especially targeting the banking and energy sectors, and the move was applauded by Australia’s Foreign Minister Stephen Smith.
Iran claims the third largest oil reserves and second largest gas reserves, after Russia.
