Harsh sanctions on Iran could hit middle and working class the hardest

Today Iran’s supreme leader vowed to retaliate in the event of an attack and condemned Western-backed oil sanctions on his country. According to Reuters, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei spoke on state TV to mark the 1979 Islamic Revolution.

On Thursday, the US Senate Banking Committee approved sanctions on Iran that could cut billions of dollars of revenue from abroad. The legislation, called the Iran Sanctions, Accountability and Human Rights Act, would stop transfers through the telecommunications network called Swift, and add to already strict sanctions on Iran’s Central Bank. The bill now moves to the full Senate.

Rhetoric from the US and Israel has risen this week as UN said a team of nuclear inspectors will return to Iran later this month.

For more we’re joined by Arang Keshavarzian, Associate Professor at NYU’s Department of Middle Eastern & Islamic Studies.