Pay Attention to What the U.S. Is Doing to Iran

Iran is one of the most heavily sanctioned countries in the world. The United States will on Thursday go one severe step further toward strangling the country’s oil-dependent economy. President Donald Trump withdrew from the Iran nuclear deal a year ago—having called it “horrible,” “disastrous,” “incompetently negotiated,” and “laughable” at various points.  Ever since, the administration has vowed to drive Iran’s oil exports, which earlier this month were about a million barrels a day, to zero. In pursuit of that goal, U.S. officials have threatened that those still importing Iranian oil after Thursday will face potential sanctions of their own.

Here are five things to know about what’s happening, why it’s happening now, and what’s next.

What is happening?

When Trump withdrew from the nuclear deal, which in part