What do US sanctions on Iran mean for the world?

One of the main issues of US foreign policy today involves how America is handling Iran's nuclear program.For the Obama administration the answer is sanctions, and this weekend the latest round is set to go into effect. It will target transactions made with the Iranian central bank. This summer the sanctions on Iranian oil will come into effect - meaning that if you buy Iranian petroleum, you'd be blocked out of doing any business with any financial institutions in the US. This measure will upset other countries who rely upon Iranian oil and also it could mean a dramatic spike in oil prices in the US, which would not only hurt consumers, but could also severely hurt President Obama's chances of being re-elected in November. Vijay Prashad, of the Trinity College brings us his take on the matter.