On Sunday, November 12th, a magnitude 7.3 earthquake hit the border region between Iran and Iraq, with tremors felt in both countries, as well as in Kuwait, Qatar, Turkey, Lebanon, Israel and the UAE. The quake caused severe casualties with 530 reported Iranian deaths and injuries in the thousands. The quake’s epicenter was near the Iraqi city of Halabjah which lies on the fault line running between the Arabian and Eurasian tectonic plates. The positioning of this fault results in frequent earthquakes in the region, with numerous earthquakes resulting in monetary damage and loss of life since 2000 (Al-Jazeera). The deadliest earthquake so far this year, it is reported to have struck at the shallow depth of 14.4 miles before the surface, resulting in a greater amplification of the damage. Numerous landslides have also taken place as a result of the tremors, making delivery of aid, especially to rural areas, all the more difficult due to road blockages (The Associated Press).
The deadly earthquake has once again shed light on the sanctions placed by the United States against Iran. Although some sanctions were removed with the 2015 nuclear deal, many still remain. The sanction of particular concern is that which prevents cash from being sent directly to Iran. With about 1 million Iranian-Americans living in the US, this has resulted in criticism as they desire to but cannot send back money to relatives and friends who were affected. The sanctions are to the extent that even crowdfunding pages for the cause have been taken down, and banks, though they would profit from the transactions, refuse to wire the money out of fear of the costly consequences. There is a precedence for the sanction being temporarily lifted, as President Bush did just that in 2003 when a magnitude 6.6 quake killed 26,000 Iranian people. However, there is no word from the White House about a possibility of this occurring again, and Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif commented that the country is capable of managing the after effects of the earthquake without foreign help (The Associated Press).

The Associated Press. “Criticism of US Sanctions Returns in Iran After Earthquake.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 16 Nov. 2017, www.nytimes.com/aponline/2017/11/16/world/middleeast/ap-ml-iran-iraq-earthquake.html.

Al-Jazeera. “Iran-Iraq Earthquake: What Happened and Why.” Al Jazeera News, Al Jazeera, 16 Nov. 2017, www.aljazeera.com/news/2017/11/iran-iraq-earthquake-happened-171113064624001.html.