A US naval blockade on ships entering Iranian ports and coastal areas took effect on April 13 as Washington increasingly turns to “economic statecraft” to force Tehran to agree on a peace deal after weeks of air strikes.

RFE/RL spoke with Max Meizlish, a research fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD) and a former official at the US Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), on the intersection of naval blockades and financial warfare.

Meizlish argues that while kinetic air strikes grab headlines, the real battle is being fought against the Chinese financial lifelines and clandestine trade networks that keep the Iranian regime afloat.

The interview has been edited for length and clarity.

RFE/RL: With the latest developments around Iran and the Strait of Hormuz, how should we understand the strategic objective of the US Navy’s presence in the region at this moment?

Max Meizlish: It seems to me that the US is moving to more aggressively target the nexus of economic interests held by the Iranian regime — all the vectors of economic interests that are central to the regime’s operations and the economic viability of the country.

We previously saw targets through missile strikes looking at petrochemical facilities, and now this is an extension of that strategy. Any ships moving in and out of Iranian ports are going to be the subject of US blockades and potential interdiction efforts.

This is an escalation of what has been in motion for the last couple of weeks.

RFE/RL: Regarding Iran’s maritime calculus, how do these developments shape Tehran’s decision-making when it comes to managing shipping flows through the strait?

Meizlish: It is going to make it much more difficult. The reality is that the IRGC has been operating what people are calling the “Tehran Toll Booth,” with facilities on Larak Island. It is becoming increasingly impractical for ships to make their way through the Strait, even if they pay that toll.

It is notable that after President [Donald] Trump’s posts stating the US would interdict any ships that made........

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