Op-Ed / Middle East & North Africa 17 May 2019 1 minute Trump's Iran policy could prop up regime in spite of economic harms Share Facebook Twitter Email Linkedin Whatsapp Save Print The announcement by President Hassan Rouhani on Wednesday that Iran will partially cease to comply with the 2015 nuclear deal was a foreseeable outgrowth of draconian sanctions imposed by the U.S. after its withdrawal from the agreement last year. Why it matters: The Trump administration's "maximum pressure" campaign has increased the threat of a nuclear escalation across the Middle East. Even short of that nightmare scenario, it could be self-defeating in the long term, hurting Iran’s pro-Western middle class at the expense of hardliners who control both the black market and a repressive state apparatus to stifle dissent. Continue reading in Axios Related Tags More for you Statement / Middle East & North Africa The Israel-Iran Crisis: A Chance to Step Back from the Brink Op-Ed / Middle East & North Africa The Middle East Could Still Explode Originally published in Foreign Affairs