"Maximum Pressure" policy returns: Trump to tighten sanctions on Iran
Shafaq News/ US President-elect Donald Trump's incoming administration plans to revive the "maximum pressure" policy to “bankrupt” Iran's ability to fund regional proxies and develop nuclear weapons, sources told the Financial Times on Saturday.
“He’s determined to reinstitute a maximum pressure strategy to bankrupt Iran as soon as possible,” a national security expert confirmed to the newspaper.
This shift will mark a change in US foreign policy amid the ongoing turmoil in the Middle East, following October 7, 2023, which triggered “a wave of regional hostilities,” the Financial Times highlighted.
“Trump’s foreign policy team will seek to ratchet up sanctions on Tehran, including vital oil exports, as soon as the president-elect re-enters the White House in January,” the newspaper added, citing people familiar with the plans.
In this context, sources close to Trump’s thinking explained that the "maximum pressure" tactic will be used in an attempt to force Iran into negotiations with the US, though experts believe this is “a long shot.”
During his campaign, Trump indicated his desire for a deal with Iran, stating, “We have to make a deal, because the consequences are impossible. We have to make a deal.”
Notably, Trump launched the "maximum pressure" strategy during his first term after exiting the 2015 nuclear deal, imposing hundreds of sanctions on Iran. In response, Iran intensified its nuclear activities, increasing uranium enrichment.
Sanctions remained under the Biden administration, though observers noted they were less strictly enforced as the US worked to revive the nuclear deal and ease the crisis.
