Paul Musgrave, associate professor of government at Georgetown University’s Qatar campus, says President Trump’s effort to pressure countries that trade with Iran via unilateral sanctions will be very difficult to implement. He notes such measures typically require multilateral coordination — including buy-in from Russia and other UN Security Council permanent members — though if enforced they could still yield some results. Musgrave adds Iran’s trade is concentrated in a few partners and the UA

2026-08-20

Paul Musgrave, associate professor of government at Georgetown University’s Qatar campus, says President Trump’s effort to pressure countries that trade with Iran via unilateral sanctions will be very difficult to implement. He notes such measures typically require multilateral coordination — including buy-in from Russia and other UN Security Council permanent members — though if enforced they could still yield some results. Musgrave adds Iran’s trade is concentrated in a few partners and the UAE has already suspended related transactions, signalling potential near-term trade disruption.