America has reached out to more than 50 countries to strangle Tehran economically

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The United States has rapidly intensified its economic pressure on Iran during the recent period through a broad diplomatic and financial campaign aimed at pushing Tehran's trading partners to choose between dealing with it and being subjected to sanctions or maintaining their relations with Washington, according to informed American sources reported on Saturday.

A senior official in the US Treasury Department, Jonathan Burke, led a tour that included countries in the Middle East and Europe this month, to make clear that dealing with Iran may expose those dealing with it to American consequences, according to what the Wall Street Journal reported.

Burke believed that US partners have become more serious in dealing with the sanctions and pressures imposed on Tehran.

During the past few days, Iran witnessed a series of measures targeting its main economic arteries, including:

- Depriving Iranian airlines of some important regional routes. - Preventing the largest Iranian commercial bank from carrying out transactions in the Emirates and Turkey. - Continued US sanctions and the naval blockade imposed on Tehran.

Meanwhile, legal and banking experts believe that the current level of pressure on the Iranian aviation and banking sectors is the strongest in years, and that its impact has been achieved at a faster pace than previous sanctions campaigns.

The Sultanate of Oman banned Mahan Air flights, and later expanded the decision to include all Iranian airlines after new US restrictions on the Iranian aviation sector entered into force.

While the UAE prevented branches of “Bank Melli Iran”, the largest Iranian commercial banking institution, from carrying out transactions related to Iran.

The UAE also decided to ban all flights by Iranian airlines, which is expected to increase trade and transportation difficulties for Tehran.

Türkiye also canceled Mahan Air flights, and also withdrew the license of Mellat Bank, one of the largest Iranian private banks, which was used to facilitate commercial transactions between the two countries.

Countries such as Azerbaijan and Georgia also took similar steps by closing their airspace to Iranian airlines.

In turn, Britain announced that it would not extend the exemptions granted to some Iranian banks operating in the capital, which could effectively lead to the closure of the Bank Melli branch in London when its license expires next month.

In return, and in an attempt to ease economic pressures, Iran offered to stop attacks on ships in the Strait of Hormuz or American interests for a period of 7 days, in a move that some reports said was aimed at obtaining an economic breathing space and the possibility of easing some sanctions.

But the administration of US President Donald Trump is still adhering to the policy of maximum pressure, considering that the time has come to force Iran to change its behavior.

Former American officials believed that sanctions are only effective if the targeted parties are convinced of the seriousness of their implementation and continuation.

They also considered that the success of the current economic strangulation campaign depends on maintaining the high level of pressure and preventing Iran from finding new alternatives to communicate with the global financial system.