Test of Wills: Iran’s Ability to Outlast the US Blockade

Economic blockades have long been used as a tool of coercion, deliberately positioned between diplomacy and war. From the British naval blockade of Germany in World War I, which helped weaken the German economic system over time, to the Soviet Berlin Blockade, which sought to force Western withdrawal by cutting off all land access to the city, blockades aim to compel political concessions by restricting access to critical supplies. Even in the nuclear age, the US “quarantine” of Cuba during the Cuban Missile Crisis demonstrated how blockades can pressure adversaries without immediate escalation to full war. In each case, the objective was not outright victory, but to reshape the opponent’s calculations under mounting economic strain.

The logic is straightforward: when military victory is out of reach, the fight shifts to controlling movement—who can trade, who can import, who can travel, and who can access the outside world.

Handout Photo by the U.S. Navy via Getty Images

معهد الشرق الأوسط (MEI) هو منظمة تعليمية مستقلة وغير حزبية وغير ربحية. لا يشارك المعهد في أي أنشطة دعوية، وآراء الباحثين فيه تعبر عن آرائهم الشخصية. يرحب المعهد بالتبرعات المالية، لكنه يحتفظ بالسيطرة التحريرية الكاملة على أعماله، ولا تعكس منشوراته سوى آراء المؤلفين. للاطلاع على قائمة المتبرعين للمعهد، يرجى النقر هنا.