FACT: In 2006, after Iran refused to suspend its uranium enrichment program, the UN Security Council imposed economic sanctions on Iran. The United States, European Union, and a variety of countries have all passed harsh measures restricting Iranian trade and services, all in hopes of ending Iran’s quest for nuclear weapons.

While many argue that if the international community eases sanctions, they can be reinstated immediately, this claim is false. The rigorous sanctions regime took nearly a decade to put in place and no evidence shows it would take any less time to impose again.

Since the ease of sanctions in late 2013, countries around the world have lined up to trade with Iran, especially since Iran is one of the world’s largest producers of oil. Iran has formed irreversible trade relations with international buyers that will supersede any future sanctions. Even Iranian President Hassan Rouhani declared, “The sanctions regime has been broken.”

As a result of this, the largest state-sponsor of terrorism (also the same government that persecutes women and minorities and murders homosexuals) will receive roughly $150 billion in sanctions relief.

For more information on the dangers of Iran, please view ZOA Campus’s fact sheets on Iran.