June 2 (Bloomberg) -- U.S.-driven economic sanctions aimed at persuading Iran to halt its atomic program are failing, leaving the government in Tehran with scope to use record oil prices to consolidate its regional influence, Middle East analysts and former diplomats said.

``The U.S. doesn't really have an Iran strategy,'' said Vali Nasr [1], an Iranian-born analyst meeting with U.S. generals in Iraq this week. ``Every set of Iran sanctions is weaker than the previous one and Iran can tolerate them with $130 a barrel oil until the time comes to talk.''

Nasr was speaking at a 12th century monastery in Talloires, France, where current and former U.S., European and Middle Eastern diplomats met over the weekend to discuss the future of U.S.-Iranian relations. The Medford, Massachusetts-based Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, the U.S.'s oldest diplomatic training academy, hosted the talks.

Iran, with the world's No. 2 oil and natural gas reserves, is insulated from the impact of three sets of United Nations Security Council sanctions by high oil prices. Brent c... >>>