Q&A:"It was a mistake for the US & a number of European countries to support Iraq, especially with outlawed chemical weapons

"...Q: Do you think the overall policy of the United States sanctioning Iran has so far been successful?A: From the Iranian perspective, and in fact from a humanitarian perspective, what happened during the Iran-Iraq war was wrong. It was a mistake for the United States and a number of European countries to support Iraq, especially with outlawed chemical weapons. Understandably, Iranians do not want to be so vulnerable again. This is why the Iranian people support the government’s policies to develop Iran’s nuclear capabilities. For sanctions to have a better chance of success, you want the broad citizenry to favor a change in the policy targeted by sanctions. The United States has made a mistake. It picked the wrong policy (to be changed by the regime in Tehran).
The nuclear issue is a popular policy. What the United States should say is we are going to impose sanctions until you hold free elections, respect human rights….This would have much force within Iran and with a change in regime, then the nuclear issue could be better resolved. The issue the US has picked (the nuclear issue) will not rally the people against the regime. Sanctions are aimed at hurting the government and forcing the regime to change its policies, or squeezing the average citizen to turn against the regime. It hurts the average person. This is sad, but inevitable, fallout of sanctions that cannot be helped."