Glenn Greenwald points to this interview with Vali Nasr, who describes the dangers of escalating Iran sanctions:

As Nasr says, the sanctions apply “massive pressure,” but they aren’t changing Iranian regime behavior. Meanwhile, the “massive pressure” is proving to be very harmful to Iranians of all classes (via Jasmin Ramsey):

Few escape hardship these days. The educated liberals who joined the protests against President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s re-election in 2009, the business elite afraid of upheaval and Ahmedinejad’s natural constituency of poorer, working Iranians are all feeling the impact of galloping inflation, a sinking currency and rising joblessness to varying degrees.