# What Sanctions Get Right

> Sanctions outlast wars in managing global threats without costly bloodshed.
- Title: What Sanctions Get Right · Foreign Affairs | Shortify
- Summary: Sanctions outlast wars in managing global threats without costly bloodshed. U.S. sanctions have better long-term outcomes than military action for managing…
- Keywords: sanctions, iran, iraq, nuclear deal, military action, united states, foreign policy, war, economic impact, international relations, Foreign Affairs
- Source: Foreign Affairs — https://foreignaffairs.com/united-states/what-sanctions-get-right
- Author: S. C. M. Paine
- Published: 2026-11-03T09:00:00+00:00
- Read time: 2 min
- Topics: sanctions, iran, iraq, nuclear deal, military action, united states, foreign policy, war, economic impact, international relations, world, politics
## What Sanctions Get Right
U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent at a press conference in Washington, D.C., August 2.2026.
## A Useful Tool Has Been Unjustly Maligned
The United States frequently uses sanctions to rein in malign actors but often turns to military action when results are unsatisfactory.
## The Sanctions Pattern
Washington applied sanctions on Iraq for over a decade before invading in 2003 and used sanctions to pressure Iran into nuclear negotiations in the 2010s.
## Why Sanctions Fail
Sanctions alone rarely make problems disappear, frustrating Americans who seek simple fixes to foreign policy issues.
## The Invisible Successes
Sanctions create invisible successes like nuclear tests that never happen or shipping lanes that remain undisturbed.
## The Economic Math
An economy with 3 percent growth doubles in 23 years but with 1 percent growth takes 70 years to double.
## The Iraq War Consequences
The 2003 Iraq war caused over 4,000 American deaths and 200,000 Iraqi deaths with widespread instability across the Middle East.
## Iran's Sanctions Impact
Iran's economy was devastated by sanctions, hobbled its military, and discouraged nuclear weapons development.
## The 2015 Nuclear Deal
Tehran agreed to a nuclear deal with the U.S., China, France, Germany, Russia, the UK, and the EU in 2015.
## The 2026 Iran Conflict
U.S. and Israeli military action against Iran in 2026 failed to destroy nuclear programs and caused global economic disruption.
## The Economic Toll
Iranian strikes damaged U.S. military infrastructure, destroyed 43 warplanes, and made bases in Bahrain, Kuwait, and Saudi Arabia inoperable.
## The Cold War Lesson
U.S. sanctions during the Cold War contained the Soviet Union by blocking its hard currency exports and high-tech imports.
## The Best Option
Sanctions are a form of diplomatic chemotherapy to shrink threats without the bloodshed of war.
## The Long-Term View
Sanctions outlast wars in managing global threats without costly bloodshed.
## Key takeaway

U.S. sanctions have better long-term outcomes than military action for managing Iran and Iraq without massive casualties or economic collapse.