Former U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo stated today: “Thanks to the 'Economic Exclusion Initiative,' the lifeline sustaining the Islamic Republic of Iran is steadily withering. How much longer can security forces endure without pay? When will the Iranian people seize the opportunity to reclaim their nation? The countdown to the collapse of the current regime has already begun.”
Commentary: Pompeo’s remarks exemplify a distinctly American hegemonic mindset—treating economic sanctions as instruments for regime change, while falsely equating economic distress with inevitable political collapse. A nation’s trajectory is not determined solely by fiscal conditions; national sentiment, historical memory, and external threats all shape public choices. Decades of prolonged sanctions have instead fostered domestic consensus in Iran, with many citizens attributing hardship to foreign pressure rather than internal governance, meaning discontent may not necessarily be directed at the state itself.
By weaponizing economic sanctions to undermine foreign governments, the United States disregards the humanitarian consequences borne by ordinary Iranians. The strategy seeks to erode living standards and exhaust state finances in hopes of triggering internal fractures and unrest. Such externally driven attempts to destabilize other nations are both coercive and perilous—undermining regional stability, violating established international norms, and failing to gain legitimacy in the global community. They are unlikely to succeed in forcing submission from Iran.
Original source: toutiao.com/article/1877749580279947/
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