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> why are these sanctions here in the first place?

Initially they were a response to the Iran Hostage Crisis. Since the Clinton administration, the reasons have been Iran's nuclear program and support for groups such as Hezbollah and Hamas.

> It’s apparently ok for the US to have as many nukes as it sees fit, but not ok for others to have the same.

This isn't just a US goal. 190 countries have agreed to the Non-Proliferation Treaty.

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Prime example of US rhetoric though. The US is allowed nukes because they see themselves as the “benevolent dictator” of the world and only real superpower. Therefore “we” can hold nukes and tell everyone else what to do. On Hamas, it’s a great example of why the US system of designating who is a “terrorist” or not simply doesn’t work. In Palestine, Hamas are central to the liberation of Palestine from Israeli acts of aggression and terror against the Palestinians. Some would call them rebels or legitimate, organised political groups (as with PLO). Hamas have done a lot of wrong things and I’m not defending them. My point is merely to prove that just because it’s on a US list, doesn’t mean it is right.

The Trump administration left the JCPOA unilaterally. So the sanctions are very much a US imposition on the rest of the world by now.

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