President Barack Obama spoke little about the success of his foreign policy during Tuesday’s State of the Union address. With the economy the focus for most voters, we are not likely to hear much more than about the raid that killed Osama bin Laden and withdrawn troops from Iraq.

But, just as importantly, the president has also seen great success in hindering Iran’s ability to create weapons grade uranium. More importantly, he has done so through economic sanctions alone, paving a less hawkish path for American foreign policy into the future.

As Iran’s president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, trudges along with plans to create a nuclear weapon in the face of sanctions from the United States and the European Union, economic insecurity within the country has set its people on edge.

Last month, the Obama administration banned any financial dealings with Iran’s central bank. It was also able to convince the European Union on Monday to ban oil imports from Iran and to freeze its assets. Unilateral action would have been ineffective, but collective efforts have made Tehran to begin to teeter. The EU is Iran’s second largest oil market after China, accounting for one-quarter of its exports. Oil makes up three-quarters of the country’s total economic output.

‘Taken in combination with the many other sanctions on Iran that continue to be implemented by the United States and the international community, this new, concerted pressure will sharpen the choice for Iran’s leaders and increase their cost of defiance of basic international obligations,’ said U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in a joint statement on the EU’s embargo.

Together, the sanctions have accelerated the slide of Iran’s already crumbling currency, the rial, leading one senior Iranian politician to say that the country is in the midst of the greatest economic instability of its history. The rial’s 20 percent inflation rate has led investors fleeing to gold and foreign currencies.

The United States hopes the deteriorating economic conditions, as a direct result of the sanctions, will force Ahmadinejad to abandon his nuclear ambitions. Despite noting how the country is ‘more isolated than ever,’ Obama said in his address to Congress that ‘a peaceful resolution of this issue is still possible, and far better, and if Iran changes course and meets its obligations, it can rejoin the community of nations.’ The president exerted this option will continue to be left on the table so long as Iran does not take any military action of its own.

In fact, this would be the best result for Obama, who introduced a scaled back military budget for the Pentagon earlier this month. It would demonstrate how the United States can continue to promote democracy in foreign countries while abstaining from costly wars.

But critics warn that sanctions are often a blunt political tool and may actually entrench Iran’s imprudence toward gaining nuclear capabilities. Paul Stevens, a Senior Research Fellow at the London-based Chatham House think tank said, ‘Given the crucial role of oil in Iran’s deepest political DNA, the EU embargo (will) put the population solidly behind the current regime.’

However, as the Arab Spring sweeps toward Iran, its people may begin to grow restless. Obama will continue to tighten economic pressures on the country and may even be able to persuade China to join. The relentless pressure may actually force Ahmadinejad to end his nuclear crusade or step down in a peaceful resolution.

Though we may not hear much about Iran on the campaign trail this summer, the president’s handling of the situation truly exemplifies how he has begun to fit comfortably into his role as commander in chief. Despite hardships at home, the United States has found a way to maintain its global presence in a less destructive and self-destructive way. In the president’s own words: ‘In the fastest growing regions of the world, countries are once again looking to the United States for leadership.’

Stephen Fox is a graduate student studying for his master’s degree in entrepreneurship and a graduate of the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications. His columns appear weekly. He can reached at smfox03@syr.edu. 

Published on January 27, 2012 at 12:00 pm