Sanctions don’t result in regime change. Whether against Iran or Russia, western countries need shrewder tactics | Simon Jenkins

Dissent cannot take hold in soil rendered barren by emigration and embargo. Political opposition needs academic and cultural exchange if it is to prosper The chancellor of the exchequer and the IMF agree. Britain’s economy is about to take its greatest hit for decades. This is collateral damage from the US’s war on Iran and the closing of the strait of Hormuz – and will be made worse by sanctioning Gulf oil exports. Britain has already been weakened by four years of sanctions against Russia o...

By Simon Jenkins