Kuala Lampur, May 1 -- There have been weeks of naval blockade along the Iranian Gulf coast by the United States.

The maritime pressure on Iran is now pushing the country towards a far more dangerous threshold.

Millions of barrels of crude that would normally leave the country each day are instead backing up into onshore storage.

Its largest terminal, which handles roughly 90 per cent of Iran's crude exports, Kharg Island, has only 12-13 days of usable capacity remaining.

Once the tanks are full, the problem is no longer simply that Iran cannot sell its oil, but that it may not be able to keep producing it.

The strategy behind the blockade by Donald Trump's administration is clear and brutally simple: The real pressure begins when cr...