Tensions are escalating in the Gulf between the US and Iran.
Iran’s president Hassan Rouhani has said his country is suffering “unprecedented pressure” from international sanctions, which the US has tightened further.
The landmark 2015 nuclear deal (known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, or JCPOA), signed between Iran and members of the United Nations Security Council, plus Germany, is almost dead. The US pulled out last year, and Iran now says it will no longer comply with the terms of the deal; and if no progress is made on easing sanctions, the country’s uranium-enrichment programme will be stepped up.