US nears the limits of its sanctions power against Iran, experts say

The United States has reached the limits of what sanctions can achieve against Iran's economy, Fortune reported on May 23. The article says the Trump administration's "Economic Fury" campaign, launched April 16, 2026 as an update to the first-term Maximum Pressure approach, comes on top of nearly 2,000 sanctions imposed since 2018 that have not forced Iranian capitulation, even alongside military campaigns and a naval blockade.

"We've just reached the limit of what we can achieve with sanctions," former State Department official Richard Nephew is quoted as saying, arguing Washington must "either overwhelm them with something new" or limit its ambitions. The report notes Iran continues substantial oil sales to China, and that hesitancy to aggressively sanction the Chinese entities involved has constrained enforcement.