Trump to revive maximum pressure on Iran by supporting sanctions, Israel strike on nuclear sites

One of President-elect Donald Trump’s first priorities when he takes office in January will be to renew his so-called “maximum pressure” campaign against Iran by backing Israeli strikes against the Islamic Republic while imposing sanctions on Tehran’s oil exports, experts predict.Trump, 78, plans to  “isolate Iran diplomatically and weaken them economically so they can’t fund all of the violence” done by its proxies such as Hamas, Hezbollah, and the Yemen-based Houthis, former US Special Representative for Iran Brian Hook told CNN Thursday.“It’s going to be maximum pressure 2.0,” Robert McNally, a former US energy official, agreed in a conversation with the Wall Street Journal.One of the ways Trump may seek to squeeze Tehran is by encouraging an Israeli strike on Iran’s nuclear and energy facilities, said Helima Croft, chief commodities strategist at Canadian broker RBC Capital Markets.The move would be a departure from the Biden administration, which received reassurance from Israel before its Oct.26 strikes on Iran that it would avoid nuclear sites or energy infrastructure, the Journal noted.People briefed on Trump’s transition plan also told the outlet that the 47th president’s administration will work quickly to stifle Iran’s petroleum income by recreating the strategy adopted during his first term.“I think you are going to see the sanctions go back on, you are going to see much more, both diplomatically and financially, they are trying to isolate Iran,” a former Trump White House official said. “I think the perception is that Iran is definitely in a position of weakness right now, and now is an opportunity to exploit that weakness.”In 2019, Trump introduced a full embargo on Iran’s crude oil exports, which caused its shipments to plummet to 250,000 barrels a day by early 2020.But Iran’s oil exports reached a six-year high in September this year, after the Harris-Biden administration tried a softer approach.Once he take...