To The Moon

By Alexander Ward, Laurence Norman and Summer Said. President Trump has instructed aides to prepare for an extended blockade of Iran, U.S. officials said, targeting the regime's coffers in a high-risk bid to compel a nuclear capitulation Tehran has long refused.In recent meetings, including a Monday discussion in the Situation Room, Trump opted to continue squeezing Iran's economy and oil exports by preventing shipping to and from its ports. He assessed that his other options -- resume bombing or walk away from the conflict -- carried more risk than maintaining the blockade, officials said."Iran is calculating that its ability to withstand and circumvent the blockade outstrips the U.S. interest in preventing a wider energy crisis and potentially a global recession," said Suzanne Maloney, an Iran expert and vice president of the Brookings Institution's foreign policy program. "A regime that slaughtered its own citizens to silence protests in January is fully prepared to impose economic