Clandestine Finance System Helped Iran Withstand Sanctions Crush

How effective are such sanctions imposed by Western countries?

"Iran used a clandestine banking and finance system to circumvent U.S. sanctions. Accounts in foreign commercial banks, proxy companies registered outside the country, firms that coordinate banned trade and a transaction clearinghouse within Iran enabled the country to conduct tens of billions of dollars in annual trade banned by the U.S., according to Western diplomats, intelligence officials and documents. That has helped Tehran withstand U.S. pressure to rejoin the 2015 nuclear deal."

Clandestine Finance System Helped Iran Withstand Sanctions Crush, Documents Show - WSJ System set up outside Iran’s borders conducted tens of billions in banned trade, according to documents, intelligence officials