Would Donald Trump's Iran Crackdown Benefit Russia? Experts Weigh In

Even before Donald Trump named Elise Stefanik the new U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, the New York representative had touted how the president-elect would return to a "maximum pressure" campaign on Iran.

The Wall Street Journal said Trump would "drastically increase" sanctions to "choke off" Iran's oil income, which the U.S. Energy Information Administration reported last month reached $144 billion between 2021 and 2023 and $34 billion in 2024.

But could Trump's alignment with Israel and intention to throttle the Islamic Republic's exports of 1.7 million barrels of oil a day impact Russia's sales of its key revenue generator? Factors that will come into play include how Middle East tensions play out.