As economists, politicians and pundits consider the threat of” ‘swift and severe” United States economic boycotts against Russia should the last invade Ukraine, one country that has long been in Washington’s crosshairs does not have to consider what such corrective measures can do-Iran.

According to the data compiled by the Center for a New American Security (CNAS), some 655 Iranian entities and individuals were approved under the administration of former US President Barack Obama.

But the cruellest punishment kicked off in 2018 after former US President Donald Trump’s government unilaterally drew from the Iran nuclear agreement with world powers. Iran banks were cut off from the worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication- SWIFT, the global financial messaging system.

That was just the opening barrage in the Trump government “maximum pressure” campaign sought to push Tehran back to the nuclear negotiating table by destroying Iran’s economy.

Washington imposed more tags against Iranian banks. In 2020, they served the country’s financial sector from the rest of the global economy. In 2020, the Paris-based Finacial Action Task Force (FATF) – the global money watchdog – placed Iran on its blacklist.

The Trump government targeted mainly Iran’s economy with more than 960 boycotts, as per CNAS. This barrage resumed unabated as Iran’s healthcare system buckled under the most challenging waves of COVID-19 infections seen in the Middle East.
And those were just the primary headline grabbers.

All of those boycotts are still implemented by the current government of US President Joe Biden.

Today, no sector of Iran’s economy has been limited by Washington’s disciplinary measures, which helped move the country into a two-year slump and continue to affect every aspect of day-to-day life.

In a speech to a group of businessmen and works on Sunday, as per the supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the last year’s data, especially those for economic growth, inflation, and foreign direct investments, are unsatisfactory.

But Iran’s economy did not tumble. It started to return to growth- albeit from a low base, in 2021, thanks to an easing the trade exchange, COVID-19.