Gulf Insider
If confirmed, this constitutes another huge gamble by Trump – on both the economic and political fronts, and with the lingering potential for escalation (towards some kind of ground action as well). According to the WSJ Tuesday evening, the president has told aides and his staff that he’s prepared to implement an extended blockade: President Trump has instructed aides to prepare for an extended blockade of Iran, U.S. officials said, targeting the regime’s coffers in a high-risk bid to compel a nuclear capitulation Tehran has long refused. In recent meetings, including a Monday discussion in the Situation Room, Trump opted to continue squeezing Iran’s economy and oil exports by preventing shipping to and from its ports. He assessed that his other options—resume bombing or walk away from the conflict—carried more risk than maintaining the blockade, officials said. Yet continuing the blockade also prolongs a conflict that has driven up gas prices, hurt Trump’s poll numbers and further darkened Republicans’ prospects in the midterm elections. It has also caused the lowest number of transits through the Strait of Hormuz since the war began. However, it remains that this could also be some classic Trump signaling of a ‘maximalist’ position, in order to get Iran to capitulate at the negotiating table. Just as the WSJ […]
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