Iran attacks another commercial ship in Strait of Hormuz as Trump sends new warship to Middle East

When President Donald Trump announced last week that he would subject Iran to unprecedented economic pressure, critics crowed that this shift was tantamount to an admission that Operation Epic Fury had failed. Yet such a policy is not only completely consistent with the president’s approach during his first term, but has a significantly greater chance of working because of Epic Fury’s actual military success.

Now, with Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent’s announcement of the so-called "D-Day" sanctions of Operation Economic Outcast, the pressure on Iran is about to become intolerable, giving Trump overwhelming leverage to force the nuclear deal he wants on Tehran.

Between 2019 and 2021, Trump directed the implementation of the Maximum Pressure campaign against Iran. The most aggressive sanctions program in modern history, it was designed to prevent Iran from getting a nuclear weapon by starving it of the economic resources to build one.

This is an excerpt from an opinion article by Victoria Coates.

Qatar's Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani is expected to visit Tehran on Thursday on a diplomatic mission to "de-escalate" tensions between Iran and the U.S.

Doha announced Al Thani would be visiting Tehran in an effort to "discuss ways to de-escalate tensions and create the conditions conducive to dialogue.”

Qatar has served as a key backchannel between the U.S. and Iran throughout the war, playing a pivotal role in organizing the diplomatic process that led to the June memorandum of understanding (MOU) between the two nations, though the MOU has since expired.

Azerbaijan is having to navigate a sensitive security environment, dominated by Iran to its south, The Jerusalem Post reported Wednesday.

Despite Baku’s official neutrality, the South Caucasus nation faces vulnerability as Tehran views it with suspicion over its reliance on Israeli weapons—a tension that escalated when Iranian drones struck the Nakhchivan exclave along their shared border in March.

One drone hit the passenger terminal at Nakhchivan International Airport, and another fell near a school in the nearby village of Shakarabad on March 5.

Simultaneously, Baku has to balance its ties with Turkey, economic relations with Russia, and ongoing peace efforts with Armenia, the outlet said.

International law and security researcher Farid Shukurlu told the Jerusalem Post the tension stems from Tehran rather than the public: “Even though Azerbaijan's position was formally neutrality, the country was still targeted by the IRGC in the Nakhchivan enclave.”

Shukurlu also said, “The military cooperation between Azerbaijan and Israel is at an all-time high.”