The Islamic Republic of Iran is an enemy of the United States.

Iran is attempting to build nuclear weapons and the missiles necessary to deliver them. At the end of January 2023, the senior United Nations official on nuclear weapons policy said Iran has enough highly enriched uranium to build "several" nuclear weapons if it chooses. That's a problem. What to do about it?

Well, the U.S. has imposed severe sanctions against the state of Iran and against elites in that country. Effectively, only humanitarian transactions are permitted. Financial sanctions are also in place. The U.S. is trying to deny Iran access to the international financial system. But the trade and financial sanctions are only having limited effect. Importantly, Iranian oil production is beginning to surge. Iranian oil exports exceed a million barrels a day and are increasing rapidly. Policy responses by the Biden administration are muted. The administration is more interested in low gasoline prices than it is in national security.

Instead, the U.S. should aggressively enforce the sanctions. The World Bank said Iran uses indirect payment methods to settle trade and financial transactions. But because of the reserve currency status of the U.S. dollar, the U.S. has the economic power to force banks and Western countries to stop all dealings with Iran. Washington should use the power of the dollar.

Several countries including Germany and South Korea openly trade with Iran. Why does the Biden administration allow this to happen? The U.S. should pressure all countries to cease all economic transactions with Iran.

Most importantly, the U.S. should tighten and enforce the sanctions on Iran’s oil industry. Revenues from oil exports account for a third of total government revenues. Reducing Iranian oil exports will go a long way to strangling economic activity in the country. Washington must pressure India, Malaysia, Singapore, and the United Arab Emirates, the countries that continue to engage in oil and oil-related financial transactions with Iran. Creative solutions are also due. The U.S. could, for example, provide large rewards for information on how Iran evades sanctions. Shine a light on sanctions-breaking.

In the long run, however, the Biden administration should stop its war on the U.S. oil industry . Certainty in U.S. policy regarding oil will encourage more drilling by U.S. oil companies and will lower the global price of oil. Lower global prices hit Iran, and for that matter Russia, hard. In its efforts to replenish the Strategic Petroleum Reserve and to ensure adequate supplies of global oil, the Biden administration should guarantee an above-market price floor for U.S. production. If U.S. oil producers know that they will make a profit on new production, then they will produce more. A high price floor and certainty of policy will result in more production. More supply from the U.S. will pressure global oil prices. Lower global oil prices strangle the Iranian economy. That is the goal.

Tighten and enforce the oil sanctions. Create a climate of certainty in U.S. oil policy. These two straightforward actions will be effective in hitting Iran where it hurts, its state treasury.

It's either that or keep letting Iran move toward the nuclear weapons threshold.

James Rogan is a former U.S. foreign service officer who later worked in finance and law for 30 years. He writes  a daily note  on finance and the economy, politics, sociology, and criminal justice.