US Sanctions Iran for Selling Weapons, Not for Buying Them
When the Financial Times (FT) reports on 'heavily sanctioned states' like Iran turning to crypto for weapons sales, the subtext is clear: 'Bad guys using bad money.' What's missing from this conveniently decontextualized narrative is the 'heavily sanctioned' part itself. The US, with its unparalleled financial leverage, has systematically cut Iran off from traditional global banking. This isn't
just about 'sanction evasion,' it's about survival in an economic chokehold imposed by Washington. One might wonder if the FT would apply the same critical lens to the Lockheed Martins of the world, whose multi-billion-dollar weapons sales — often financed by US taxpayers and sold to regimes with dubious human rights records — never seem to raise similar alarms. The hypocrisy writes itself: Iran's
methods are deemed 'illicit' for circumventing sanctions that America unilaterally imposed, yet global arms dealers operate with impunity, exchanging weapons for currencies that are, for all intents and purposes, backed by endless war. Apparently, only certain nations get to engage in the arms trade without being deemed a financial threat.