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Source: https://www.wsj.com/opinion/trumps-resolve-on-iran-at-60-days-8642c0c4?mod=opinion_lead_pos1
A Blockade Takes Time to Work
(Wall Street Journal) Editorial - President Trump on Friday repeated his determination to blockade Iran until it agrees to nuclear concessions and reopens the Strait of Hormuz. While critics say Iran can hold out forever because it withstood sanctions in the past, the situations aren't comparable. Iran has already lost 40% of its GDP in two months. Now, while Chinese oil importers face a U.S. Treasury crackdown, the U.S. Navy is blocking Iran's oil exports. Iranian businesses are closing, inflation is rising, and the currency hit a new low Wednesday, down another 15% in two days. The downside of the blockade is that it takes time to work. If Tehran's leaders refuse to strike a deal, there is little reason not to end the ceasefire, which from the start was predicated on Iran's reopening of the Strait of Hormuz. The war isn't a failure. Iran's nuclear program was devastated in June and hit again in March. Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and dozens of senior officials have been killed, leaving Iran with less-experienced replacements, a Supreme Leader in hiding and a divided junta. Iran's missile program has been set back and its navy and defense-industrial complex demolished.