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Source: http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4263210,00.html
Can Sanctions Stop Iran's Nuke Program?
(Ynet News) Ron Ben-Yishai - Sanctions are exacting a heavy price from Iran and its citizens. The price of food and housing is seeing a sharp increase, while the local currency is collapsing. But according to reliable information obtained by Israeli and Western diplomats, Iran's supreme leader Ali Khamenei believes that for the time being the sanctions do not endanger the regime. Iran has resorted to creative measures in an effort to bypass the sanctions, smuggling crude oil to the West as Turkish or Iraqi oil. The Obama administration is working to put an end to this phenomenon, or at least reduce it - in part due to pressure from Israel. Senior Israeli officials claim that at least a year will pass before the sanctions begin to significantly decrease Iran's foreign exchange reserves. By then, they warn, Iran will be capable of producing enough uranium to build 5-10 nuclear warheads - and an Israeli or American strike on its nuclear facilities would be futile.