Both the American and European governments say that their measures are just a start and can be extended, depending on what Russia does next. Even if the lists are lengthened to include the families of the main targets, the sanctions will fall far short of the chokehold on Iran’s economy. Those sanctions were comparatively easy to put in place because the country was already cut off from the world economy. This is not the case for Russia. “Tough sanctions would mean saying to BP, Exxon, Chevron, Shell, Boeing and Siemens that they can’t do business in Russia,” says Fiona Hill of the Brookings Institution, a think-tank.
