Tightening the screw on Iran To embargo Iran's oil is to strike at the central pillar of the country's economy. Today, European Union foreign ministers are expected to do exactly that, by banning imports of Iranian crude. The only serious argument is over when the axe will fall: Britain wants a delay of no more than three months before this draconian measure comes fully into effect; Greece, heavily dependent on Iranian oil, seeks eight months of grace. But whenever the embargo does bite, the effect will be to cost Iran billions of dollars and undermine the very foundations of its economy. If a key aim of British diplomacy is to maximise the pressure on Tehran's regime, then today's decision will probably count as a success. There is, however, no cause for triumphalism. Sanctions, after all, are not an end in themselves. They are only a means to compel Iran to obey six United Nations resolutions and stop enriching uranium. And so far, diplomats struggle to point to a single beneficial result achieved by their efforts to squeeze the country's economy. Iran's leadership, riven by infighting on every other issue, still appears united in its resolve to master the enrichment process, which could be used to make nuclear weapons. True, the Iranians have signalled a willingness to negotiate, but almost a decade of desultory talks has produced nothing yet. Meanwhile, sanctions will inevitably deepen the suffering of Iran's 70 million people. The danger is that we find ourselves locked into heaping more and more pressure on Iran's economy, until the moment arrives when there are no sanctions left to impose, and the only remaining option is to destroy the country's nuclear facilities by force. Iran's intransigence is such that today's sanctions are a terrible necessity. But they must be balanced by creative diplomacy to break the impasse.