All 3 Uses

sanction
in
American Sniper
(Auto-generated)

Saddam was smuggling oil and other items both into and out of his country, in violation of the U.N. sanctions.
p. 59.7 *

sanctions = penalties
Our job was to get aboard her, inspect her papers, and if, as suspected, she was violating the U.N. sanctions, turn her over to the Marines or other authorities for processing.†
p. 66.9
The U.N. later estimated that, in violation of international sanctions, billions of dollars of oil and other items were smuggled out of Iraq and into the pockets of Saddam's regime.†
p. 69.3

Definitions:

(1) (sanction as in: cannot sanction such behavior)
formal approval

Ironically, this word has contradictory meanings that are frequently used. When selecting words for an audience who may not be sure of this word's contextual meaning, consider substituting a word like endorse for this sense of sanction.
(2) (sanction as in: sanctions against them)
formal penalty

This word has contradictory meanings that are frequently used. When selecting words for an audience who may not be sure of this word's contextual meaning, consider substituting words like penalize for this sense of sanction.
(3) (meaning too rare to warrant focus)