British Report: Netanyahu, Trump discuss land blockade on Iran

A report published by the British newspaper The Telegraph said that Israel and the United States are considering the possibility of imposing a land blockade on Iran as part of a range of options aimed at intensifying economic pressure on Tehran and pushing it to change its position and return to the negotiating table.

According to the report, Netanyahu and Trump discussed these proposals during their meeting at the White House earlier this week, focusing on ways to tighten economic pressure on the Iranian government.

The report said the proposed plan would involve pressuring countries that share land borders with Iran to restrict or close border crossings, thereby limiting Iranian imports and exports. The newspaper quoted an Israeli official as saying that one scenario under consideration would prevent Iran from moving any goods across its land borders.

The report noted that implementing such a plan would require the cooperation of Iraq, Turkey, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Turkmenistan, Armenia, and Azerbaijan, all of which share land borders with Iran. However, most of these countries are not close allies of either Israel or the United States, making the plan politically and diplomatically difficult to implement.

The newspaper added that Washington may view Iraq and Pakistan as the countries most susceptible to U.S. pressure in this context, although neither is considered among its closest allies. It also noted that cooperation by these countries could expose them to economic consequences or retaliation from Iran.

Quoting a source familiar with the discussions, the report said Trump believes the current strategy toward Iran has reached a dead end, prompting him to consider additional escalatory measures that could increase pressure on Tehran and encourage it to resume negotiations.

At the same time, the report suggested that the leaks could be part of a deception campaign intended to conceal the actual next step, without confirming that a land blockade is the option that will ultimately be pursued.

The report also said an Israeli official told The Telegraph that Netanyahu and Trump discussed three main options for dealing with Iran in the coming period: reaching an agreement, maintaining maritime pressure, or resuming military strikes. The source added that Netanyahu did not strongly advocate any one of these options during the talks.

ANHA