When former US President Donald Trump addressed the Iranian people, promising “help is coming,” it wasn’t a casual remark. It was a calculated signal of a range of American options, escalating from economic pressure to more assertive measures, in the context of an ongoing confrontation with Tehran.
Washington has several options on the table. First, tightening the economic noose remains the most frequently used path, deemed less politically costly, and with the swiftest impact on the Iranian domestic front. A key component of this is Trump’s stated intention to impose tariffs of up to 25% on countries continuing trade relations with Iran. This seeks to isolate Iran economically and pressure its partners by threatening their interests with the United States.
The US administration is betting that the impact of these sanctions will be felt domestically. Past experiences suggest that economic pressures have fueled popular protests, which quickly expanded beyond economic demands to political ones.
Beyond economics, cyberattacks emerge as an unconventional pressure tool, targeting Iranian infrastructure, particularly communication and censorship systems. This aims to disrupt the authorities’ ability to control the flow of information during any internal unrest. This option recalls past incidents acknowledged by Tehran, including the Stuxnet virus attack that crippled centrifuges at the Natanz nuclear facility, as well as cyberattacks targeting sensitive systems, with the Ministry of Communications admitting to millions of attempted breaches.
In the realm of soft power, supporting Iranians digitally is a path already underway. SpaceX‘s announcement of providing Starlink service within Iran is a key example, although authorities claim to have countered this by confiscating smuggled communication devices.
This option is seen as less escalatory but potentially impactful. It can break digital isolation, reconnect protesters with the outside world, and enhance their ability to organize and convey their narrative beyond borders. The military option remains, of course, but all indications suggest that other avenues will be explored first.
