As tensions escalate, U.S. must intensify pressure on Iran and the IAEA

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Tensions between Iran and the West continue to escalate. Last week, a British warship thwarted an attempt by Iranian vessels to block the passage of a U.K.-flagged oil tanker in the Strait of Hormuz. A week earlier, British forces seized an Iranian oil tanker near the Mediterranean peninsula of Gibraltar carrying oil, in defiance of European sanctions, to Syria. Meanwhile, Iran continued to violate the 2015 nuclear deal by incrementally exceeding its limits on uranium stockpiles and enrichment levels. The regime has threatened further breaches if Europe does not find a way to provide relief from U.S. sanctions.

Brigadier General (Res.) Professor Jacob Nagel is a former head of Israel’s National Security Council and a former national security advisor (acting) to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. He is currently a visiting professor at the Technion and a visiting fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies (@FDD). Tzvi Kahn is a senior Iran analyst at FDD.