Donald Trump’s new administration will revive the maximum pressure policy of his first term to “break” Iran’s ability to fund regional proxies and develop nuclear weapons. This was reported by the Financial Times, citing sources familiar with their plans.
“He is determined to resume the maximum pressure strategy to bankrupt Iran as soon as possible.” — said, in particular, one national security expert.
Trump made it clear during the election campaign that he wants to reach an agreement with Iran. “We have to reach an agreement because the consequences are impossible. “We have to reach an agreement,” he said in September.
Maximum pressure tactics will be used to try to force Iran to negotiate with the United States, although experts say that is unlikely, the sources said.
Trump launched his first “maximum pressure” campaign in his first term after abandoning the 2015 nuclear deal that Iran signed with world powers and imposing a series of sanctions on the Islamic Republic. In response, Tehran has stepped up its nuclear program and is enriching uranium to near weapons-grade levels.
Trump’s transition team, according to sources, is already developing executive orders he could issue on his first day in the Oval Office aimed at Tehran, including tightening and adding new sanctions on Iranian oil exports.
“If they really go all out…they could reduce Iranian oil exports to several hundred thousand barrels per day. “This is their main source of income, and their economy is already much more fragile than it was then… they are cornered much worse than even in the first term, this would be a pretty bad situation,” said the president of the consulting firm Rapidan Energy and former advisor to the Energy Administration George W. Bush Bob McNally.
Trump’s advisers urged the new president to act quickly on Tehran, and a person familiar with the plan said the new American leader would make clear “that we are going to take enforcement of sanctions against Iran very seriously.”
The maximum pressure campaign aims to deprive Iran of revenue to strengthen its military or fund proxy groups in the Middle East region, but ultimately boils down to forcing Tehran to negotiate a new nuclear deal and change its regional policy, sources said. .
“We hope this will serve as an incentive for them to accept good faith negotiations that will stabilize relations and even normalize them one day, but I think Trump’s terms for this will be much tougher than the Iranians are prepared for,” he told national press. security expert.
Meanwhile, the Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi This week he called on Trump’s team to no longer try to apply maximum pressure.
“Attempting “Maximum Pressure 2.0” will only result in “Maximum Impact 2.0.” Better idea: test the ‘Greatest Wisdom’, for the benefit of all,” he said on the social network X, alluding to Iran’s nuclear advances in the years since Trump abandoned the agreement.
