Aiming Financial Weapons From Treasury War Room

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The sanctions are not without their detractors. Critics have argued both that Iran’s sanctions are too harmful to the civilian economy and that they have failed to have enough effect on its nuclear program. Others say that the administration is relying far too heavily on sanctions.

“There’s no doubt that sanctions have become the dominant instrument of coercive statecraft,” said Mark Dubowitz, the executive director of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies. “This administration has become increasingly reluctant to use other forms of coercion, including covert action” to achieve its policy goals, he said. But Treasury officials repeatedly said that sanctions were a part of, not a substitute for, a diplomatic policy — some sanctions worked better than others, and none were ever used in isolation.

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