Trump ups sanction pressure on Iran to European dismay
WASHINGTON — The United States reimposed economic sanctions on Iran Monday, ratcheting up pressure on the Islamic Republic despite dismay from European allies, three months after President Donald Trump pulled the U.S. out of an accord limiting Iran’s nuclear activities.
Mr. Trump has declared the 2015 agreement “horrible,” having gifted the Iran with cash to fuel conflict in the Middle East.
Iran accused the U.S. of reneging on the nuclear agreement and of causing Iranian economic unrest. European allies said they “deeply regret” the U.S. action.
Mr. Trump said in a statement, “We urge all nations to take such steps to make clear that the Iranian regime faces a choice: either change its threatening, destabilizing behavior and reintegrate with the global economy, or continue down a path of economic isolation.”
A set of sanctions, eased under the accord, were going into effect at one minute past midnight
under an executive ordered signed by Mr. Trump. Those sanctions affect financial transactions involving U.S. dollars, Iran’s auto sector, the purchase of commercial planes and metals.
A second set of sanctions targeting Iran’s oil sector and central bank will be imposed in November.
Mr. Trump warned that those who don’t reduce economic ties to Iran “risk severe consequences.” Europe wasn’t pleased. Despite Mr. Trump’s claims, the accord “is working and delivering on its goal” of limiting Iran’s nuclear program, said a statement by European Union foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini and the foreign ministers of France, Germany and the United Kingdom.
The ministers said the deal is “crucial for the security of Europe, the region and the entire world,” and the European Union issued a “blocking statute” Monday to protect European businesses from the impact of the sanctions.
A senior administration official, briefing reporters under ground rules requiring anonymity, said the United States is “not particularly concerned” by EU efforts to protect European firms from the sanctions.
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said Iran can rely on China and Russia to keep its oil and banking sectors afloat. Speaking in a TV interview, he demanded compensation for decades of American “intervention” in Iran.
Months of uncertainty surrounding the sanctions have hurt Iran’s economy. The country’s rial currency has tanked, sparking protests across the nation.
The “Trump Administration wants the world to believe it’s concerned about the Iranian people,” Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said in a statement on Twitter. He said the sanctions would endanger “ordinary Iranians.”
“US hypocrisy knows no bounds,” he said.
U.S. officials insisted the American government stands with the people of Iran and supports many of their complaints against their own government.
National Security Adviser John Bolton said Iran’s leadership is on “very shaky ground,” but insisted pressure from the administration is not an attempt at “regime change.”
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said sanctions are an important pillar in U.S. policy toward Iran and will remain in place until the Iranian government radically changes course.
“They’ve got to behave like a normal country. That’s the ask. It’s pretty simple,” said Mr. Pompeo, en route from a three-nation trip to Southeast Asia.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, a firm foe of the Iranian government, said the sanctions symbolize “the determination to block Iran’s regional aggression as well as its continuous plans to arm itself with nuclear weapons.”
He called on the countries of Europe to join the U.S., saying, “The time has come to stop talking; the time has come to do.”
The U.S has long designated Iran as the world’s foremost state sponsor of terrorism, Mr. Pompeo noted Sunday, adding that the Islamic Republic cannot expect to be treated as an equal in the international community until it halts such activities.
He said that “there’s no evidence today of a change in their behavior,” and in the meantime “we’re going to enforce the sanctions.”