Trump looking to 'drastically throttle' Iran's oil sales: Report

Trump’s advisors also reportedly support an Israeli strike on Iran’s nuclear and energy facilities  

News Desk - The Cradle 

US President-elect Donald Trump plans to “drastically increase sanctions on Iran and throttle its oil sales as part of an aggressive strategy” to undercut Tehran’s support for its allies in the Axis of Resistance and its nuclear program, The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported on 8 November.

Trump took a hostile stance toward Iran in his first term by canceling the nuclear deal (the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, or JCPOA), which gave Iran sanctions relief in exchange for limits on its nuclear energy program.

He also imposed a “maximum pressure” sanctions strategy on Iran and assassinated the widely popular Iranian Quds Force general, Qassem Soleimani, who led the fight against US-backed extremist groups, ISIS and the Nusra Front, in Iraq and Syria.

According to people briefed on Trump’s early plans, the new team intends to “move rapidly to try to choke off Iran’s oil income, including going after foreign ports and traders who handle Iranian oil. That would re-create the strategy that the former president adopted in his first term, with mixed results.”

“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 White House official told the WSJ.

“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.”

However, “The officials familiar with Trump’s plan didn’t provide details of how precisely he would increase the pressure on Iran,” the WSJ added.

Israel and Iran have exchanged multiple attacks over the past year. The back-and-forth was initiated by Israel when it bombed the Iranian consulate in Damascus, Syria on 1 April, killing Iran’s top general Soleimani and several other Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) commanders.

On 26 October, Israel launched strikes inside Iran, targeting Tehran’s missile-production capabilities and air defenses.

Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei has promised a harsh response.

Brian Hook, a former state department official and Iran hawk who led the US “maximum pressure” campaign during Trump’s first term, is expected to receive a top national security job in his second term.

In an interview with CNN, Hook noted that Trump has pledged to “isolate Iran diplomatically and weaken them economically” to prevent it from supporting the Axis of Resistance.

Hamas, Hezbollah, Yemen, and the Islamic Resistance in Iraq have all worked with Iran to resist Israel’s ongoing genocide of Palestinians in Gaza.

“It’s going to be maximum pressure 2.0,” said Robert McNally, a former US energy official.

With China being Iran's largest oil purchaser, McNally told the WSJ that Trump may pressure Iran by imposing US bans on Chinese ports that receive Iranian oil. 

Helima Croft, the chief commodities strategist at Canadian broker RBC Capital Markets, told the WSJ that Trump’s senior advisors have expressed strong support for an Israeli strike on Iran’s nuclear and energy facilities.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who has advocated attacking the Islamic Repubic's nuclear facilities for many years, is a strong supporter of Trump.

Mick Mulroy, a top Pentagon official for the West Asia region in Trump’s first term, stated that the president-elect may nevertheless be willing to strike a new deal with Iran, but only “if it’s his deal.”

In response to Trump’s election earlier this week, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian stated, “To us, it does not matter at all who has won the American election because our country and system relies on its inner strength.”