The nuclear deal with Iran is gone, lying dead on the rubbish heap of history. It all seemed straightforward on the surface. The Iranians promised to halt the enrichment of uranium and not blow up Israel. In return, the U.S. and the European Union agreed to lift economic sanctions that stunted the Iranian economy. Unfortunately, it did not work that way.

Despite the underwhelming assurances that it was the “best deal that we could get,” people hated the nuclear deal. The agreement ignored Iranian support for terrorism, human rights abuses and the fact that they are the primary military backers of Syrian dictator Bashar Al Assad. The signers of the deal also conveniently skirted the issue that the Iranian military and intelligence services effectively infiltrated the economy.

Now that President Trump killed the deal, sanctions are back, and American might rules the day! Unfortunately, the declarations of victory are premature. For years, the Iranians evaded international sanctions with high-efficiency. Now that the deal is gone, the same players sit waiting to for their chance to start the process again

In the immortal words of Taylor Swift, “The U.S. and Iran are never, ever, ever getting back together!” At one time, Iran and the U.S. were close allies. Under the rule of the fabulously wealthy but inept ruler, the Shah Mohammed Reza Pahlavi, Iran was a liberal country that supported Israel. The U.S. in return for this forward-thinking policy sold Iran jets and weapons. American scientists even helped establish the now infamous Iranian nuclear program.

Unfortunately, just like most of Ms. Swift’s romantic endeavors, the relationship between the U.S. and Iran seemingly crashed in flames. In 1979, conservative students took control of a popular revolution and deposed the Shah, replacing him with the Shiite cleric, Inman Khomeini as the nation’s supreme leader.

From that point on, the Iranian government took U.S. embassy workers hostage, funded terrorism and exchanged missile technology with North Korea and Libya, and threatened to destroy Israel in a nuclear holocaust. In response, the United States placed comprehensive sanctions on Iran. The U.S. froze $12 billion in assets, and banned American businesses from trading with Iran. Further, the U.S. and Europe banned the export of Iranian oil and penalized any company that conducted business in amounts higher than $20 million with substantial fines. Lastly, the U.S. cut Iran off from the American banking system. This made transferring funds for countries that still conducted business with the Islamic Republic difficult.

Despite the sanctions, Iran maintains the second largest economy in the Middle East. It leads in fields such as technology development and biomedical research. The Iranian military also manages to stay formidable, fighting in Syria and providing support to Houthi rebels in Yemen. This came about through clandestine efforts on the part of the Iranian government and some good old criminal activity.

Even though sanctions limit the Iranian industry, the nation still owns a large commercial shipping fleet, known as the Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines (IRISL.) These ships regularly travel to countries with historical and ideological ties to the Iranian people. At the port of calls in countries such as Venezuela, Sudan or North Korea, ships are loaded with illicit cargo, and false manifests are written — concealing the true nature of the voyage.