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President Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, arguing that an orchestrated series of global sanctions has brought more economic pain for Iran than its government anticipated, are making a renewed appeal to Iranian leaders to reopen negotiations on the country’s nuclear program that collapsed last year.

The administration’s renewed opening to Iran comes as evidence mounts that gasoline shipments to the country have slowed drastically, that at least some banks, from Europe to Pakistan, have cut off dealings with the country for fear that they will lose access to the United States financial system and that Iranian officials are unable to get foreign investment in a series of multibillion-dollar oil and gas projects.

Much of that evidence has been put forward by local media in the Persian Gulf region and is difficult to confirm, although officials with the United States Treasury Department say they also believe that Iran is having trouble getting investment for oil and gas projects.