The United States followed-up its aborted airstrike against Iran on June 20 with two alternative attacks directed against Iran's struggling economy and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), or the Revolutionary Guards that shot down a U.S. Navy aerial spy drone on the same day.
It imposed "major" additional sanctions on Iran on Monday in another attempt to prevent Iran from building nuclear weapons. President Donald Trump said economic pressure will be maintained unless Iran's leaders change course away from fomenting anti-U.S. sentiment in the Middle East.
"We're putting additional sanctions on," said Trump. "In (some) cases we are moving rapidly."
Trump again resorted to the same gambit he's offered North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un: abandon programs (in Kim's case his nuclear weapons) in exchange for massive economic growth Trump promises will occur if they make a deal with him.
"If Iran wants to become a prosperous nation... it's OK with me," said Trump. "But they're never going to do it if they think in five or six years they're going to have nuclear weapons."
"Let's make Iran great again," he said, echoing his campaign slogan from the 2016 presidential election.
Political analysts note Trump's increasingly onerous economic sanctions are the main factors pushing both countries to the brink of war. They said adding more sanctions will again compel Iran to lash out in defiance. More U.S. sanctions also mean a diplomatic "off-ramp" remains beyond reach.
Iran's economy is being badly hit by sanctions already in place. Iran is threatening to breach some of the terms of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), or the Iran Nuclear Deal, agreed to with major powers and implemented on Jan. 16, 2016.
Trump also keeps calling for negotiations with Iran. His Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo, offered talks with no conditions except Iran start behaving like "a normal nation," but without spelling out what a normal nation means to Trump.
Tehran brushed aside the Trump-Pompeo offers as mere "wordplay."
The second blow against Iran was directed against the IRGC. U.S. Cyber Command, launched major cyber attacks ahead off the aborted airstrike of June 20 to ensure the success of this punitive mission.
Trump approved a cyber attack that's said to have disabled the computer networks controlling Iran's missiles and air defense systems. The operation also shut down Iran's military command and control systems.
