Trump reinstates harsh decision against Iran

Six months after slamming the door on Iran’s nuclear deal, the United States confirmed on Friday that it would reinstate its toughest sanctions against oil and banks on Tehran on Monday, but doubts persist over the campaign. controversial “maximum pressure”.

“President Donald Trump reinstates the harshest sanctions ever adopted” to bend Iran, the White House announced.

In a statement Friday night, the billionaire explained that “the goal is to force the regime to make a clear choice: either give up its destructive behavior or continue on the path of economic disaster.”

The European Union (EU), France, the United Kingdom and Germany, signatories of the 2015 agreement intended to prevent the Iranian authorities from acquiring the atomic bomb, immediately regretted “strongly” this decision.

Last summer saw the return of a first train of measures lifted in 2015. The second component will come into effect on Monday. It is a question of sanctioning, by barring them access to the American market, all the countries or companies that will continue to buy Iranian oil or to exchange with the banks of the Islamic Republic.

“The goal is to deprive the regime of the revenues it uses to sow death and destruction around the world,” said US PM Mike Pompeo.

Eight countries will, however, be allowed to continue to buy Iranian oil for at least another six months, “because they have made significant efforts to bring their crude imports back to zero,” he said.

The list of these countries will be known Monday. At this stage, we know that the European Union as a whole is not part of it, but that it includes Turkey. Observers expect that exemptions will also be granted to South Korea, India, Japan and perhaps China.

– North Korean Strategy –

The Trump administration ensures that the implementation of the sanctions will be much more “aggressive” than in the past, with fewer derogations and more controls.

But, assured the president Friday evening, the action of the United States is directed against the Iranian regime, “not against the Iranian population who suffers for a long time”. Reason why, according to him, the food or the medicines in particular are exempt from the sanctions “since a long time”.

Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said that 700 names would be added to the US blacklist, 300 more than those withdrawn after 2015.

He also said that the United States wants to cut Iranian financial institutions hit by sanctions from the international banking system Swift, a vital link in the financial system.

“Swift must make a choice: to submit to the threat of US sanctions or continue to facilitate transactions with blacklisted banks,” said Behnam Ben Taleblu, of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, which is fighting for a tough.

“The sanctions will hurt,” predicts a European diplomat, while Iran, its economy and especially the rial, its currency, have already suffered for several months. According to him, “it’s the same battle plan as Kim Jong Un and North Korea: sanctions, maximum pressure and then they are ready to negotiate”.

The Trump administration does not hide its inspiration from this strategy, which it deems successful, the strong man of Pyongyang having committed to a “denuclearization” at a historic summit with the US President after a sharp tightening of international sanctions.