Six months have passed since President Donald Trump withdrew the United States from the multilateral agreement that capped Iran's nuclear program in exchange for the lifting of economic sanctions against that country. During that time, the U.S. has tightened its squeeze on the Iranian economy to force Tehran to renegotiate a deal that Trump denounced as ineffective in its main purpose — ending Iran's nuclear ambitions — and too limited in scope: it did not address the entire range of Iranian behaviors that he wants changed.
New sanctions went into effect on Sunday that target Iran's oil sector — its main source of revenue — and its financial institutions. Because the U.S. imports little Iranian oil, and does little business with Iran in general, effective sanctions must change the calculus of non-U.S. companies that do the bulk of trade with Iran. In other words, the U.S. is picking a fight with allies and partners that continue to comply with the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), as the deal is officially known. It is a dangerous strategy since there is no indication that Iran is prepared to knuckle under and allied cooperation is essential to the success of any sanctions. Indeed, there is little sign of U.S. strategy at all.
For the Trump administration, the Iranian regime is the source of many, if not all, of the problems in the Middle East. In addition to Tehran's nuclear ambitions, it is charged with supporting proxy wars, destabilizing neighboring governments and backing terrorists around the world. The U.S. has 12 demands of the Iranian government, ranging from the complete and verifiable end of its nuclear program to ending support for all groups fighting in the region and halting all threatening behavior toward neighboring countries. As Trump explained last week, "Our objective is to force the regime into a clear choice: either abandon its destructive behavior or continue down the path toward economic disaster."