U.S. and Israeli officials are discussing a possible land blockade of Iran as
one option reportedly under consideration by Trump and Netanyahu to increase
economic pressure. The proposal would seek to pressure Iran’s neighbors and
regional partners to tighten or close border crossings to choke Iranian imports
and exports, a step that would require persuading countries that are often not
allied with Washington or Tel Aviv. An Israeli senior official posed the
hypothetical: if Iran could neither import nor export, what would happen?
Retired three-star General Sean McFarland cautioned the blockade is “almost
impossible” to implement but said that depriving Iran of trade would
economically isolate it and that economic measures would likely need to be
paired with military factors.