Podcast / United States 21 January 2021 1 minute U.S. Sanctions: An Overused Foreign Policy Tool? This week on Hold Your Fire!, Naz Modirzadeh and Richard Atwood discuss the “maximum pressure” sanctions that the U.S. has imposed upon Iran and Venezuela. Their guests are Crisis Group’s experts on these two countries, Ali Vaez and Phil Gunson. Share Facebook Twitter Email Linkedin Whatsapp Save Print This week on Hold Your Fire!, Naz Modirzadeh and Richard Atwood host Crisis Group’s Iran Project Director, Ali Vaez, and Senior Analyst for Venezuela, Phil Gunson, to assess Washington’s unilateral sanctions on Tehran and Caracas. They argue that the Trump administration’s "maximum pressure" policy had none of the intended effects on the Iranian and Venezuelan governments but had dramatic ill effects on civilians. The unintended consequences highlight the responsibility that comes with the power to impose these penalties, as does the difficulty of reversing them. Click here to listen on iTunes or Spotify. Related Tags Economics of Conflict Iran Venezuela More for you Podcast / Horn of Africa The Horn (Season 3) Podcast / Europe & Central Asia War & Peace (Season 3)