From the Wall Street Journal Europe: “The West’s Betrayal of Iran: Europe’s ‘dialogue’ with the mullahs is just camouflage to cover up the trade and appeasement,” by Saba Farzan
I met Saba in Berlin last month and I certainly respect her passionate love of liberty for her native land, but I have queried her on just what she would have foreign governments do. (It is not clear from her article.) Trade embargoes have a terrible history of generating support for despotic regimes and even verbal criticisms can be used to tap deep wells of nationalism on behalf of such regimes. That said, many in Central and Eastern Europe recall fondly the remarks on the “Evil Empire” by Ronald Reagan during the Soviet occupation of those countries. (On the other hand, that was compatible with local nationalism, so it’s not clear that such remarks would have a similar impact on a population ruled by a domestic despotism.)
On the history of trade embargoes:
Cuba
Japan, Rhodesia, etc