Trump bets economic pain will finally force Iran to reopen Strait

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.An intensifying U.S. naval blockade of Iran is aimed at inflicting such severe economic pain that Tehran will be compelled to quickly submit to Washington’s demands to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and abandon its nuclear ambitions.With crude exports from Iranian ports effectively stopped up, the country will be deprived of a large chunk of its oil revenues.

It could also be forced to start shutting down oil wells within weeks as it runs out of storage space, a costly and damaging prospect that could impair production for years to come.U.S. officials said Thursday that the blockade, initially focused on ships headed to and from Iranian ports, would expand to cover all so-called shadow-fleet vessels that serve Iran’s oil exports.

The Pentagon said it was prepared to board those ships wherever they are in the world.The growing scope of the U.S. interdiction effort appeared designed to speed the impact on Iran, as pressure grows on President Trump to wind things down and mediators try to get the two sides back to the negotiating table.

Beyond the effects on oil, the expanded blockade could enable the U.S. to board ships carrying materials Iran may need for its economy or war effort.In essence, Trump, who failed to force Iran to open the Strait of Hormuz through actual war, is banking on an economic assault to do the job.In as little as two to three weeks, Iran could hit a moment known in industry parlance as reaching “tank tops”—essentially running out of room to store the oil it is pumping out of the ground—according to Vortexa, Kpler and Energy Aspects, which track the industry.Data on the exact size of Tehran’s oil facilities are opaque, and other analysts have suggested Iran could have