BOOM: Trump Imposes Sanctions on Iran’s Supreme Leader, Others.

The move came on the same day the Trump administration said it is planning to try to assemble an international coalition to protect shipping in the Persian Gulf, senior State Department officials said Monday.

However, officials did not spell out the precise role other countries would take, saying they would serve as observers, deterring Iranian attack by watching and taking photographs of Iran’s operations.

“This is having eyes on,” said one State Department official, who is traveling with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in Saudi Arabia. “So it’s not about shooting at people. It’s about shooting pictures of Iranians.”

“The U.S. will participate,” added the State Department official, who noted that the effort is being dubbed the “Sentinel program.”

Keep “shrinking the box,” as I wrote earlier today.