Israel and US consider Iran land blockade

The United States and Israel are discussing a possible land blockade of Iran, The Telegraph can reveal.

The proposal is one of several options being explored by Donald Trump and Benjamin Netanyahu to ratchet up economic pressure on the regime after months of strikes and a prolonged campaign failed to bring it to heel.

It is understood that the US president and the Israeli prime minister discussed increasing economic pressure on Iran “through kinetic and non-kinetic means” when the pair met in the Oval Office on Tuesday.

The plan would probably require the US and Israel to press Iran’s neighbours and regional partners to tighten or close border crossings, restricting the flow of exports and imports.

“What if you just blocked the land? Suppose Iran can’t bring anything in and cannot take anything out. Anything will happen,” a senior Israeli official told The Telegraph, raising one possibility the two countries have discussed.

Sean MacFarland, a retired three-star lieutenant general, said that while a land blockade would be “almost impossible”, “if you take away Iran’s ability to trade... then you are isolating them economically. That’s the way to bring them to their knees”.

He added: “The economic approach is the concise one, but it must have kinetic elements.

“Iran borders a whole bunch of countries over land, and Iraq is very aligned with Iran. That would make it very difficult to stop any support from getting in.”

A land blockade could target key border crossings such as Incheh Borun and Sarakhs-Sarahs, which connect Iran and Turkmenistan.

Iran shares borders with Iraq, Turkey, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Turkmenistan, Armenia and Azerbaijan, meaning the leaders would have to persuade these countries, many of which they are not allied with, to co-operate.

Washington may view Pakistan and Iraq, which are not considered its close allies in the region, as weak links.

If any of the seven countries bordering Iran agreed to co-operate, they would face their own economic consequences and the threat of retaliatory strikes by the Islamic Republic.

Blockades of ports or key crossings could hamper Iran’s ability to rearm itself.

Tehran is expecting a shipment of hundreds of Chinese rocket launchers from Beijing under a new deal to strengthen military ties between the nations.

The $70m (£53m) contract covers man-portable air defence systems (Manpads), anti-aircraft missiles that a single person can carry.

Ships returning from China have been known to stop at the ports of Bandar Abbas and Chabahar in the south of Iran.

Mr Trump believes he has reached the end of the road with his current strategy to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, a source familiar with the discussions told The Telegraph.

The source added that the US president was therefore looking at various options for escalation that could force Iran back to the negotiating table.

A land blockade would fit his maximum-pressure strategy aimed at crippling Tehran’s economy, which began with a naval blockade.