A United States naval blockade on Iran is strangling the Islamic Republic’s main economic corridors – leaving Tehran facing a looming oil storage crisis and its citizens grappling with rising food prices and surging unemployment.
Yet unless Washington is prepared to impose its naval blockade for months longer, it will be difficult to completely dismantle an Iranian economy that has spent years adapting to US pressure and crippling sanctions.
And as much as Iran is suffering, its leaders will be aware that Trump is under pressure too, with the US president facing growing backlash over the war domestically and crucial midterms looming. Tehran may have calculated that Trump will blink first.
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