Trump restores Iran sanctions
US vows to fight Tehran’s ‘demonic’ ambitions to build nuclear bomb
Saying it will fight Iran’s “demonic” ambitions, the Trump administration yesterday announced it was reimposing harsh economic sanctions on Tehran as part of a strategy to curb its ability to build a nuclear bomb.
Trump signed an executive order yesterday reimposing many sanctions on Iran, three months after pulling out of the Iran nuclear deal.
The revived sanctions ban most transactions with Iran’s central bank; its network of ports and insurance companies; the purchase of Iranian sovereign debt; and trade in gold, graphite, aluminium and other precious metals. They came into effect at 12.01am today.
However, US President Donald Trump also said yesterday he remains open to forging a new nuclear deal with Iran. “I remain open to reaching a more comprehensive deal that addresses the full range of the regime’s malign activities, including its ballistic missile programme and its support for terrorism,” Trump said in a statement.
Earlier, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said renewed US sanctions on Iran will be rigorously enforced and remain in place until the Iranian government radically changes course. Pompeo said the reimposition of some sanctions is an important pillar in US policy towards Iran. He said the Trump administration is open to looking beyond sanctions. “They’ve got to behave like a normal country. That’s the ask. It’s pretty simple.”
Meanwhile, Iranians were bracing yesterday for the return of US sanctions against the backdrop of angry protests and a corruption crackdown that are roiling the embattled government of President Hassan Rouhani.
The Iranian President said yesterday that Washington’s call for new nuclear negotiations at the same time the US reimposes crippling sanctions “makes no sense”.
“They want to launch psychological warfare against the Iranian nation and create divisions among the people,” he said in a televised interview.
We urge all nations to take such steps to make clear that the Iranian regime faces a choice: either change its threatening, destabilising behaviour and reintegrate with the global economy, or continue down a path of economic isolation.”
Donald Trump | US President
Iranians were bracing yesterday for the return of US sanctions against the backdrop of angry protests and a corruption crackdown that are roiling the embattled government of President Hassan Rouhani.
The country has seen days of sporadic protests and strikes in multiple towns and cities driven by concerns over water shortages, the economy and wider anger at the political system.
Journalists reported a heavy build-up of riot police on Sunday night, including at least one armoured personnel carrier, in the town of Karaj, just west of Tehran, that has been a focal point of unrest.
The internet was cut off in the area — part of concerted efforts to block reporting on the unrest which include severe restrictions for foreign journalists.
“We are deeply concerned about reports of the Iranian regime’s violence against unarmed citizens. US supports the Iranian people’s right to protest against the regime’s corruption & oppression without fear of reprisal. We call on the regime in #Iran to respect its people’s human rights,” Mike Pompeo, US Secretary of State wrote on Twitter.
The United States is set to reimpose sanctions today following President Donald Trump’s decision to withdraw from the 2015 nuclear deal in May.
Pompeo vowed on Sunday that the US would “enforce the sanctions” and that pressure on Tehran was meant to “push back against Iranian malign activity”.
“We’re hopeful that we can find a way to move forward but it’s going to require enormous change on the part of the Iranian regime. They’ve got to behave like a normal country. That’s the ask. It’s pretty simple,” Pompeo said.
Pompeo called the Iranian leadership “bad actors” and said President Donald Trump is intent on getting them to “behave like a normal country.”
The tensions have already fuelled a run on Iran’s currency, which has lost more than half its value since April, and exacerbated widespread concerns over high unemployment, inflation and the lack of reform.
Rouhani’s government unveiled new foreign exchange policies late on Sunday, allowing unlimited, tax-free currency and gold imports, and reopening exchange bureaus after a disastrous attempt to fix the value of the rial in April led to widespread black-market corruption.
“This is just about Iranians’ dissatisfaction with their own government, and the President is pretty clear, we want the Iranian people to have a strong voice in who their leadership will be,” Pompeo said.
Key Trump administration figures, including national security adviser John Bolton, have called for regime change in the past, although the official line is that Washington only wants a change in its “behaviour”.
“For Bolton and others, pressure is an end in and of itself,” Suzanne Maloney, deputy director of the foreign policy program at the Brookings Institution, told AFP.
“If it leads to a wholesale capitulation
We’re hopeful that we can find a way to move forward but it’s going to require enormous change on the part of the Iranian regime. They’ve got to behave like a normal country. That’s the ask. It’s pretty simple.”
Mike Pompeo| US Secretary of State
fine, if it leads to regime change, even better.”
There have been ongoing rumours that Trump and Rouhani could meet in New York later this month, where they are both attending the UN General Assembly.
Iran hawks believe the pressure is already showing results, pointing to a surprising lack of harassment by Iranian naval forces against American warships in the Gulf this year.
If Iran senses “American steel they back down, if they perceive American mush they push forward — and right now they perceive steel,” said Mark Dubowitz, chief executive of Foundation for Defence of Democracies, a Washington think tank that lobbied against the nuclear deal.
Dubowitz, who noted that Iran has tested fewer missiles of late, said Trump’s rhetoric and position on Tehran actually lowers the risk of escalation toward conflict.
“He’s assuming that if he talks tough, that will bolster the credibility of American military power,” Dubowitz said.
Trump has stated he wants a new deal with Iran that goes beyond curbing its nuclear programme, and ends what America calls its “malign influence” in the region, including its support to Syrian President Bashar Al Assad and threats to shut down the strategic Strait of Hormuz, a vital shipping lane for international oil supplies.
Meanwhile, Iran’s foreign minister, Mohammad Zarif, issued a defiant statement.
“Of course, American bullying and political pressures may cause some disruption, but the fact is that in the current world, America is isolated,” he said.
European Union diplomatic chief Federica Mogherini issued a statement jointly signed with the foreign ministers of Britain, France and Germany: “We deeply regret the re-imposition of sanctions by the US and are determined to protect European economic operators engaged in legitimate business with Iran,” the statement read.
But observers say the reality is that for many international businesses the risk of losing access to US markets far outweighs any gains from dealing in Iran.