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On this week's episode of The Costa Report, Trita Parsi, President of the National Iranian American Council (NIAC), revealed a shocking new report titled "Losing Billions: The Cost of Iran Sanctions to the U.S. Economy" which, for the first time, quantifies the economic impact Iranian sanctions have had on the U.S. economy. According to the report, which Parsi co-authored, the United States lost between $134.7 and $175.3 billion in export revenue to Iran between 1995 to 2012. Parsi continued, "Over the last 17 years the United States also lost approximately 1 million job opportunities as a result of the sanctions." Despite the shocking figures, Parsi stated the report's figures are a "very conservative estimation."

Parsi was disturbed to discover the U.S. government conducted no studies on the potential economic blowback to the domestic economy in advance of ordering sanctions. He believes this is due to the fact that sanctions are considered a necessary "political" weapon. But Parsi argues the use of sanctions comes with a price. While sanctions have the "illusion" of appearing to be free, they are anything but.

Last month, the U.S., Iran, and other foreign powers engaged in negotiations regarding Iran's expanding nuclear program. Parsi claims that Iran's willingness to negotiate is not a result of economic sanctions – as has been portrayed by the U.S. media. Instead, Iran's willingness to negotiate has been largely guided by newly elected Iranian leaders. Among these officials is current Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mohammad Javad Zarif, who was once part of negotiations in 2003 and 2005 wherein Iran voluntarily offered to reduce their nuclear program – an offer which was rejected by President Bush, who considered Iran to be an "illegitimate" foreign government with whom the U.S. should not negotiate. Today, Zarif and other Iranian officials are attempting to re-open a conversation they initiated in 2003 and 2005 – this time with stronger political backing in their country and a receptive State Department under Obama.

To hear the full interview with Trita Parsi, visit www.thecostareport.com