Valdai Club

Sanctions succeed not only through legal design or enforcement rigor, but also through alignment with the physical realities of energy trade. As global energy systems shift toward digitalisation, financial decentralisation, and renewable integration, the future effectiveness of sanctions will increasingly hinge on the technical and infrastructural characteristics of targeted commodities, Daniyal Meshkin Ranjbar writes.

In the midst of persistent instability in several regions of the globe, particularly the Middle East, the international community has once again observed the contours of what can be described as the “Western style of negotiations”. This dynamic has been especially visible in the recent diplomatic engagements between the Islamic Republic of Iran and Western powers, primarily the United States, concerning Iran's nuclear programme.

As we reach the culmination of 46 years of sustained sanction pressures against the Islamic Republic of Iran, it is crucial to examine the country’s experiences and adaptive strategies throughout this period. Iran’s adaptation in the face of sanctions can be portrayed as a process of challenge and response: challenges from the West and Iran’s responses to these pressures.