Getting China to Sanction Iran
The Chinese-Iranian Oil Connection
Erica Downs and Suzanne MaloneyERICA DOWNS is a Fellow at the John L. Thornton China Center [1] at the Brookings Institution. SUZANNE MALONEY is a Senior Fellow at the Saban Center for Middle East Policy [2] at the Brookings Institution.
For more than three decades, the United States has tried to persuade the international community to counter the threat posed by Iran's Islamic regime. The results have often been underwhelming, with even Washington's closest allies resisting tough measures against Iran because of strategic considerations and commercial interests.
Recently, however, that landscape has changed. Last June, the United Nations Security Council penalized Tehran for failing to suspend its uranium-enrichment program by adopting strict new sanctions, including an arms embargo and tough restrictions on Iranian banks and the Revolutionary Guard Corps. Resolution 1929 also paved the way for individual states to adopt even more stringe