Sanctions are used in contemporary international relations to settle disputes and achieve certain political goals. More than often, they reflect discontent of powerful members of the United Nations Security Council over international and internal behaviors of other members. North Korea and Iran have been subject to severe sanctions in recent years which aimed to get these countries give up their nuclear programs. Since permanent members of the Security Council have different economic and strategic interests in various parts of the world, imposition of sanctions against North Korea and Iran has been discriminatory. Therefore, sanctions against North Korea and Iran do not pursue the same goals and extensive lobbies by countries like China and Russia have been very influential in determining severity of sanctions against those countries. The present paper compares sanctions imposed against North Korea and Iran and the influence of countries like China and Russia on different treatment of Iran and North Korea by international community.
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