A festering four-year war, crippling sanctions, threats to maritime oil trade and a US naval battlegroup steaming for the Persian Gulf. Both have been pivotal in focusing Trump on Iran, and imposing new comprehensive sanctions on its economy. Trump’s backers ignore the Bush administration’s intervention, blaming instead Barack Obama’s pivot towards Iran and his signature nuclear deal for kickstarting Iran’s adventurism. Tensions have been boiling since the Trump administration’s decision to lift sanctions waivers from eight countries that import Iranian oil. The stated goal of this was to collapse Iran’s exports to “zero”.

Source: The Guardian May 13, 2019 15:35 UTC