The US has long used economic coercion to achieve foreign policy goals — the war in Iran shows how that power has declined

The protracted Iran war has exposed the limits of U.S. economic coercion. Historically, the U.S. used economic sanctions to achieve foreign policy goals, but the effectiveness of these sanctions has diminished with the rise of China and a multipolar world. The JCPOA agreement and subsequent reimposition of sanctions on Iran have negatively impacted the Iranian economy, suggesting a decline in U.S. global power.