Trump waged economic warfare (crippling sanctions, blocking of petroleum exports) combined with military threats, having the objective of achieving regime change. Failing that, Trump hoped to force Iran to the negotiating table and gain concessions. The strategy backfired and now Iran has countered asymmetrically and is now in the driver seat. Iran refuses to negotiate with the United States until sanctions are lifted. The lifting of sanctions is a non-starter politically as Trump would lose face having capitulated to Iran. So he won't lift sanctions and Iran will not negotiate.
Iran has stated if they aren't allowed to export petroleum products, then nobody would be able to export oil through the straits of Hormuz. In fact, Iran doesn't even have to block the passage way to halt shipping. Simply making it dangerous enough to pass through, so that insurance rates skyrocket, would be enough to end transport. And if oil transport through the straits halted, financial derivatives would detonate creating a global financial crises. Economies across the globe would come to a screeching halt fairly quickly. Hence, the United States cannot afford to strike militarily. It would be suicidal.
Iran has figured this out. They know it would be crazy for the United States to launch an attack. So, whereas the US had been the aggressor having wreaked havoc with sanctions and surrounded Iran with military bases, Iran is now becoming the aggressor. Iran can covertly sabotage oil related targets, watch the price of oil steadily rise, and pressure Trump to pull back on the sanctions. Pompeo, Trump, and the neocons have lied so many times (Iraq, Skipral, Russiagate, Syrian chemical attacks, Ghadafi killing his own people, etc.) that US accusations have little credibility in the world community. The Iranian leadership realizes Iran cannot sustain crippling sanctions and loss of oil revenue forever. In their view, arguably correctly, the US has already waged war on Iran and it is imperative that Iran respond forcibly. The US allies never wanted to break the JCPA in the first place and vowed to keep to the deal, but threats from the US forced them to back down.
Trump may be facing a lose-lose scenario. Should Trump back off sanctions now, he will look weak and Iran will be seen as the victor politically. On the other hand, if Trump doesn't relent on the sanctions, Iran will continue to ratchet up the pressure and force Trump's to either launch an attack which will at the least destroy his Presidency and at most wreck the global economy.
A similar strategy continues to be used on Venezuela. Trump seems to be quietly backing off of that one although the sanctions are still in place. Venezuela might be able to survive the sanctions with help from China and Russia. Iran, however, must overcome sanctions to survive. And they have the ability to hit back with a financial war of their own.
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