Combine red wine, beef stock, pomegranate molasses, honey, and tomatoes in a medium bowl and set aside.
Set the instant pot on sauté mode “high” and add the olive oil. Salt and pepper the brisket and brown it on both sides - about three minutes per side. Remove brisket.
Turn sauté down to “normal” and add sliced onions to pan along with the thyme. Brown the onions, stirring frequently for about 3-5 minutes.
Place brisket on onions – layering it as needed, then pour pomegranate molasses mixture over brisket. Close the lid and turn it on to “pressure cook” for 60 minutes.
When 60 minutes is up, let it natural pressure release (NPR) for 10 minutes, then let it quick release for about four minutes or until the silver knob goes down.
At this point, the meat should be almost tender. Remove and slice it across the grain (crucial to cut against the grain or it will be tough to chew even if it is cooked properly)
If you are adding carrots and potatoes or any other root vegetable, add them into the pot, then put the meat back on top of the vegetables. If any of the meat is thinner and seems done, just slice it but don’t put it back in. Put the instant pot on for two more minutes of “pressure cook”. When it’s done, let it NPR again for 10 minutes, then quick release and the meat and vegetables should be ready to go.
You can now either serve the brisket immediately or let it cool uncovered for about half an hour and refrigerate it to eat later. You can also optionally leave the gravy in the instant pot on sauté and reduce it down to instensify the flavor even further.