Can Economic D-Day make Iran surrender?

Nigar, what do you make of President Trump's latest threat? Is this perhaps another sign of frustration given the military strikes have not forced Iran to surrender?

It's absolutely us here.

I think more public signaling of the president's frustration.

I mean, he started the war assuming that this would be a quick and easy win with very grand goals, you know, regime change in Iran, destroying their army, destroying their air force, destroying the nuclear program.

And none of those goals have been achieved.

And he's created new problems with the war, which is the Strait of Hormuz.

He's tried force and coercion and more pressure to try to get this trade open, but it just hasn't worked with the Iranians.

There was a brief moment of diplomacy in Islamabad with the MOU, but he just couldn't sustain that, continue it.

And now it's back to threats and force and coercion.

It's just, I don't think it's going to bring any policy change into Iran as it hasn't over the years, and especially after two wars.

So I'm assuming you don't think this will change Iran's calculation in any way?

I don't think so.

I think the Iranians are in this for the long game.

I mean, they've tolerated much worse than economic pressure, on top of economic pressure.

Also, Iran is one of the most sanctioned countries on earth.

Will this add to the economic misery in Iran? Of course.

You know, people, working class, middle classes will pay the price for that.

But has economic pressure brought any policy change? Not really.

And I don't think it's going to bring that.

And Iranian tolerance, the tolerance for pain, for this kind of economic pain is also very high.

So I don't think this is going to change the calculation in Tehran, definitely not in short term and possibly not even in long term.