US President-elect Donald Trump plans to clamp down on Iran to undermine its alleged support for Hamas and Hezbollah, the Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday, citing sources. The approach will reportedly be similar to the ‘maximum pressure’ policy that marked Trump’s first term, and could be exacerbated by a personal vendetta over allegations that Tehran plotted to assassinate him.
Widely known as an Iran hawk, Trump spearheaded America’s unilateral withdrawal from the 2015 nuclear deal with Iran, which sought to curb Tehran’s nuclear program in exchange for significant sanctions relief. Trump argued that the deal did little to prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons and reimposed crippling oil, trade, and financial sanctions on the country.
In 2020, Trump authorized a strike that killed Qassem Soleimani – the head of Iran’s Quds Force who was a popular figure in the country – a move that further escalated US-Iran tensions.
Former Trump officials interviewed by the WSJ believe that when the president-elect is sworn in in January, his approach to Iran “is likely to be colored by the knowledge that its agents tried to assassinate him and former top national security aides after they left office.” Tehran has denied ever having such plans.
Mick Mulroy, a top Pentagon official serving in Trump’s administration, noted that “people tend to take that stuff personally,” adding that “if he [Trump] is going to be hawkish on any particular country, designated major adversaries, it’s Iran.”
WSJ sources familiar with the president-elect’s plans said his team will “move rapidly to try to choke off Iran’s oil income, including going after foreign ports and traders who handle Iranian oil.” China is currently the top importer of Iranian crude.
An unnamed former White House official added that the Trump team will also try to “isolate Iran” both financially and diplomatically, adding that Washington will seek to exploit Tehran’s perceived “weakness.”
Potential changes in US policy could come as the Middle East remains in turmoil, with Israel locked in a war with Hamas in the Palestinian enclave of Gaza and a conflict with Lebanese-based group Hezbollah – both of which have close ties to Iran.
Officials in Tehran have signaled that they don’t really care who is the leader of the US. “The general policies of America and Iran are fixed… There is no change in people’s livelihood and it doesn’t matter much who becomes the president in America,” government spokeswoman Fatemeh Mohajerani said.