Watching a carpet deal in Iran, I caught a glimpse of the structure of nations clashing

When traveling abroad, I sometimes have what you might call an 'aha!' moment in neuroscience.
It is such a pleasure that once you experience it, you get hooked.

Traditional Persian carpets are famous in Iran.
When I went to Iran in 2019, the owner of the guesthouse where I stayed was someone who repaired and resold old carpets.
He had a large stock of carpets in the basement and taught me about the various traditional motifs used in them.
Authentic carpets are quite expensive, so I couldn't possibly afford one, haha.

One day, the owner was happy, saying that someone in Australia had bought a carpet through email correspondence!
He said he would have a relative abroad transfer the money and then have it paid through a money broker.
When I asked why they didn't just transfer it directly, he replied, 'sanction'.
I felt like I had heard that word before, but what was it again?
I asked Google Translate, 'What is a sanction?'
The answer was 'seisai' (sanction).

Sanctions!!

I knew the word, but I didn't expect it to come up here!?
The sanctions referred to here are measures taken by countries led by the United States and multinational corporations against issues such as Iran's nuclear development program.
Specifically, this includes bans on military-related exports, bans on investment in oil and natural gas, and the exclusion of Iranian financial institutions from international transactions.

Because of this exclusion from international transactions, the owner could not have the Australian person transfer the money directly.
Since they have to go through a broker, I'm sure they take a fair amount of extra commission.
From my perspective, I also feel it's amazing that overseas customers can transfer large sums of money to the financial account of a third country (a relative abroad) that they don't really know.
Even if the transfer is made after confirming the product.
When I felt the barriers to such transactions myself, I thought that exclusion from international transactions was indeed an effective policy.
Effective for what, you ask? For reducing the foreign currency within Iran and weakening the nation's power.

I studied international politics in college.
It was so interesting that I was obsessed with it.
But that was about governments and international power balances, and to me, it was just an abstract story on a large scale.
In Iran, I witnessed firsthand how political exchanges between nations affect something as mundane as an individual's bank transfer.
I realized that international politics is not just a field of study where great scholars debate, but is closely related to what is happening in the world right now.

At times like this, I realize what Steve Jobs said about connecting the dots.
That's why studying and experiencing various things is so interesting, isn't it?

Today was my 34th day of daily posting.