US sanctions designed to impact Iranian people psychologically: Expert

The "continual rounds of US sanctions" are designed to impact the Iranian people psychologically, according to Patrick Lawrence, an American political analyst and foreign affairs journalist.

Iran’s permanent representative to Vienna-based international organizations has censured as “crimes against humanity” the unilateral US sanctions on the Islamic Republic and said Washington’s so-called maximum pressure campaign on Tehran would not be subscribed to in the country.

Kazem Gharibabadi made the remarks in a post on his Instagram account on Saturday after the US administration defied Europe’s humanitarian objections and imposed sanctions on 18 Iranian banks.

The Treasury Department announced the measure on its website on Thursday, weeks ahead of the American presidential elections in which incumbent Republican President Donald Trump is pitted against Democrat Joe Biden.  

The Trump administration took the punitive action with an aim to cut off the Islamic Republic from the world's financial system.

US targets Iran's financial sector, imposes sanctions on 18 banks

The United States has targeted Iran’s financial sector by imposing sanctions on 18 Iranian banks, in defiance of Europe’s humanitarian objections.

“I think there are a few points to note here. One is, its psychological impact on the Iranian people is one of the purposes of these continual rounds of sanctions. The message being this is not going to end and we are not going to stop at anything no matter how inhumane it may prove to be by way of consequences. I think that's one point to demoralize Iranians. I greatly look forward to Iranians not being demoralized,” Lawrence told Press TV on Sunday.

“I think on the other side it is a kind of secondary intent here to make sure Americans are perfectly accustomed to the constant imposition of sanctions on other people and to obscure from us the inhumanity of these,” he stated.

“Sanctions are supposedly a non-violent way to put pressure on other nations. Of course, they're in certain respects as violent as warfare, and when it comes to civilian populations even more violent than warfare,” he added.  

“And I think it's important that the authorities here keep Americans accustomed to the notion that sanctions are a feature of our foreign policy and they are acceptable. And the final point I would make is that we are a few weeks away from an election here, and President Trump is very eager to score some sort of foreign policy success as the Election Day draws near. And I put these latest sanctions in that context too,” he noted.

“One final thing I'll mention, of all the series of sanctions, so far imposed this strikes me as this new set with the potential to cut Iran entirely out of the international financial system, making it impossible to import medicines and food and so on is by far the worst, so far as I understand them and the most objectionable,” he concluded.

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