The resulting sanctions are biting hard and fast. Iran’s currency, the rial, is in free-fall. And some of the most powerful sanctions, including on the oil industry, have yet to fully take effect.
European efforts to create a “special payments vehicle” that would allow countries and companies to pay Iran in currencies other than dollars and skirt U.S. sanctions appear doomed.
Beyond the sanctions, the U.S. has teamed up with regional allies to intensify strategic pressure. U.S. troops are staying in eastern Syria, while Israel is confronting Iran and its Hezbollah proxies from Lebanon in the west. And the U.S. and Saudi Arabia have been pursuing an effective campaign to weaken Iran’s grip on Iraq, most recently by securing the appointment of a new prime minister who Iran tried but failed to block.
…
Washington and Tehran are communicating that neither wants war, but also that neither is satisfied with the current arrangement. That means both sides must want a deal. And that’s progress, even though it’s far from clear that either side’s idea of a fair deal would ultimately prove acceptable to the other.
So give Trump credit. His pressure on Iran seems to be working as planned so far.
European efforts to create a “special payments vehicle” that would allow countries and companies to pay Iran in currencies other than dollars and skirt U.S. sanctions appear doomed.
Beyond the sanctions, the U.S. has teamed up with regional allies to intensify strategic pressure. U.S. troops are staying in eastern Syria, while Israel is confronting Iran and its Hezbollah proxies from Lebanon in the west. And the U.S. and Saudi Arabia have been pursuing an effective campaign to weaken Iran’s grip on Iraq, most recently by securing the appointment of a new prime minister who Iran tried but failed to block.
…
Washington and Tehran are communicating that neither wants war, but also that neither is satisfied with the current arrangement. That means both sides must want a deal. And that’s progress, even though it’s far from clear that either side’s idea of a fair deal would ultimately prove acceptable to the other.
So give Trump credit. His pressure on Iran seems to be working as planned so far.
