How China and Russia could hobble Trump’s plans to isolate Iran

United States President Donald Trump has threatened to financially punish any country providing an economic “lifeline” to Iran, as he declared an “economic D-Day” against Tehran.The threat, six months into the US’s costly conflict with Iran, is Trump’s latest attempt to wield US economic power to achieve his foreign policy objectives, after a series of damaging trade wars earlier in his second term in office.Recommended Stories list of 3 itemslist 1 of 3Iran prepares to keep economy alive as US threatens further sanctionslist 2 of 3Why is Russia threatening UK with ‘consequences’ over Ukraine drones?list 3 of 3‘Tit for tat’: Why is Trump cosying up to North Korea’s Kim Jong Un again?end of listBut Trump’s leverage over China and Russia, two important trade partners with Iran, is limited, analysts say. Russia is already under sweeping US sanctions and operates largely outside the US-led economic framework. China, meanwhile, has repeatedly shown it is willing to ignore US sanctions when doing so serves its own economic interests.Paul Musgrave, an associate professor of government at Georgetown University in Qatar, told Al Jazeera that “it is going to be very difficult” for Trump to p...