An empire in decay only becomes more violent and ruthless.----"The U.S. has killed over 40,000 Venezuelans in one year's worth of sanctions."----Iran has been subject to crippling U.S. sanctions and military provocations in recent weeks. The most recent U.S. escalation began in mid-July when the U.K., through its territory of Gibraltar, seized an Iranian oil tanker accused of violating E.U.-imposed sanctions against Syria.