Independent political analyst Alex Alfilraz Sheils said Washington’s push to
reimpose “maximum economic pressure” on Iran risks repeating measures from
Trump’s first term that ultimately failed. He argued that earlier deterrent
effects owed to policy uncertainty, but that the president has “lost
credibility” in a second term, weakening US leverage with other states and
reducing the likely effectiveness of secondary sanctions on Iran. Sheils blamed
strategic errors — including policy oscillation and unclear use of military,
governance and diplomatic tools — as factors undermining US geopolitical
influence.
