Will it work? Israel and the United States are considering imposing a land blockade on Iran.
According to a report today (Friday) in the British Telegraph, this proposal is one of several options being examined by President Donald Trump and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu - with the aim of increasing economic pressure on the Iranian regime, in order to lead to its collapse.
According to the report, Trump and Netanyahu discussed increasing economic pressure at the White House on Tuesday. Under the plan, the US would pressure Iran's neighbors and regional partners to limit or close border crossings and the flow of imports and exports.
An Israeli official told The Telegraph: "What if you just block the land? Let's say Iran can't bring anything in or out. Anything can happen.".
However, according to the British newspaper, this plan may be a deception aimed at disguising the real next step.
The Telegraph noted that implementing the blockade would require the involvement of Iraq, Turkey, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Turkmenistan, Armenia, and Azerbaijan, all of which have land borders with Iran - but some of which are not allies of the United States and Israel.
According to the report, Washington may see Pakistan and Iraq as weak links in this context. At the same time, there is concern that if the countries agree to cooperate with the blockade, they could face economic consequences and attacks from Iran.
A source familiar with the details of the discussions told The Telegraph that Trump believes he has reached a dead end in his current strategy against Iran and is therefore looking for additional options that will lead Iran back to the negotiating table.
