Iraq may show how U.S. can squeeze Iran’s trade partners

DUBAI – Iraq could serve as an example of how the United States could carry out its threat to force countries that continue trading with Iran out of the dollar-based financial system. Washington has already sanctioned a host of Iraqi banks accused of doing business with Tehran, though it has avoided measures that would devastate the economy of the strategic ally of both countries. President Donald Trump has warned that any country that provides Iran with an economic lifeline would face severe consequences.

That could put Iran’s main trading partners of recent years in the frame: China, the United Arab Emirates, Turkey, India, Pakistan and Oman.