US New President Donald Trump is reportedly planning to revive the ‘maximum pressure’ policy against Iran.
The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported on this Friday that US President-elect Donald Trump plans to revive his ‘maximum pressure’ policy against Iran by “drastically increasing sanctions on Iran and throttling its oil sales as part of an aggressive strategy to undercut Tehran’s support for its allies in the Axis of Resistance and its nuclear program.”
The report also noted, citing from people briefed on Trump’s early plans, that the new administration intends to “move rapidly to try to choke off Iran’s oil income, including going after foreign ports and traders who handle Iranian oil. That would re-create the strategy that the former president adopted in his first term, with mixed results.”
“I think the perception is that Iran is definitely in a position of weakness right now, and now is an opportunity to exploit that weakness. That’s why in the coming weeks, you are going to see the sanctions go back on, you are going to see much more, both diplomatically and financially, they are trying to isolate Iran,” a former White House official told the WSJ.
What will happen?
Brian Hook, a former state department official and Iran hawk who led the US “maximum pressure” campaign during Trump’s first term, is expected to receive a top national security job in his second term.
In an interview with CNN, Hook noted that Trump has pledged to “isolate Iran diplomatically and weaken them economically” to prevent it from supporting the Axis of Resistance. Hamas, Hezbollah, Yemen, and the Islamic Resistance in Iraq have all worked with Iran to resist Israel’s ongoing genocide of Palestinians in Gaza.
“It’s going to be maximum pressure 2.0,” said Robert McNally, a former US energy official. With China being Iran’s largest oil purchaser, McNally told the WSJ that Trump may pressure Iran by imposing US bans on Chinese ports that receive Iranian oil.
Trump has a history of unsuccessful anti-Iran policies!
During his first term as US president, Trump took a hostile stance toward Iran. Just to give an example, it was him who pulled the US out of the nuclear deal (the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, or JCPOA), which gave Iran sanctions relief in exchange for limits on its nuclear energy program.
Trump also imposed a “maximum pressure” sanctions strategy on Iran and assassinated the widely popular Iranian Quds Force general, Qassem Soleimani, who led the fight against US-backed extremist groups, ISIS and the Nusra Front, in Iraq and Syria.
However, and as many US officials from Trump’s own team have admitted several times, Trump’s policies to isolate Iran and zero its oil exports had failed drastically, and his administration’s “maximum pressure” strategy with Iran proved to be a maximum failure.
