The Trump administration on Monday moved to reimpose the first round of Iranian trade sanctions that had been suspended under the 2015 nuclear agreement, distancing itself from every other country that signed the agreement and putting the accord’s future in jeopardy.
U.S. officials said the sanctions that have been waived for the past two and a half years will be snapped back officially on Tuesday morning at one minute past midnight.
From that moment on, Iran will be prohibited from using U.S. dollars, the primary currency used for international financial transactions and oil purchases. Trade in metals and sales of Iranian-made cars will be banned. Permits allowing the import of Iranian carpets and food, such as pistachios, will be revoked. So will licenses that have allowed Tehran to buy U.S. and European aircraft and parts — a restriction that comes just days after Iran completed the acquisition of five new commercial planes from Europe.
Those who don’t comply could be subject to “severe consequences,” President Trump said in a statement.
In a background call to reporters, senior administration officials said the goal was twofold: to prod Iran to renegotiate the nuclear agreement so it also addresses Iran’s ballistic missile tests and adventuresome activities in the region, and to change the government’s behavior. They openly sided with Iranian protesters unhappy with the faltering economy and social issues, but stopped just short of calling on Iranians to rise up against their government.
“The president has been very clear,” one official said. “None of this needs to happen . . . The Iranian people should not suffer because of their regime’s hegemonic ambitions.”
In his statement, Trump slammed the “horrible” agreement negotiated by the Obama administration, and declared himself “open” to a new deal to replace the one officially known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).
“The JCPOA, a horrible, one-sided deal, failed to achieve the fundamental objective of blocking all paths to an Iranian nuclear bomb, and it threw a lifeline of cash to a murderous dictatorship that has continued to spread bloodshed, violence, and chaos,” he said.
In a gesture aimed at European countries that consider the deal vital to their security but remain concerned about Iran’s other activities, he added, “As we continue applying maximum economic pressure on the Iranian regime, I remain open to reaching a more comprehensive deal that addresses the full range of the regime’s malign activities, including its ballistic missile program and its support for terrorism. The United States welcomes the partnership of likeminded nations in these efforts.”
Like other officials in his administration, Trump hinted at his desire for a different government to replace the theocratic rulers of Iran, without directly calling for regime change.
“The United States continues to stand with the long-suffering Iranian people, who are the rightful heirs to Iran’s rich heritage and the real victims of the regime’s policies,” he said. “We look forward to the day when the people of Iran, and all people across the region, can prosper together in safety and peace.”
There was no immediate reaction from Iran, but some Iranian officials have said the U.S. breach of its commitments under the deal frees them to resume suspended elements of their nuclear program.
The European Union and U.S. allies Britain, France and Germany announced what they called a “blocking statute” to take effect Tuesday that would attempt to nullify U.S. legal action against European firms doing business with Iran.
“We are determined to protect European economic operators engaged in legitimate business with Iran, in accordance with EU law,” a joint statement said.
The statement expressed regret over the U.S. decision to reimpose sanctions, and declared, “The JCPOA is working and delivering on its goal, namely to ensure that the Iranian programme remains exclusively peaceful.”
The long-anticipated sanctions move came 90 days after President Trump withdrew the United States from the landmark 2015 agreement negotiated with five other world powers. It had suspended U.S. and international sanctions in exchange for Iran agreeing to limits on its nuclear program. Iran’s faltering economy will take an even bigger hit in another 90 days, on Nov. 4., when sanctions on petroleum, the country’s major export, are slapped back in place.
The administration set a series of deadlines for the reimposition of all sanctions to allow countries and private businesses to start preparing for them.
[How killing the nuclear deal could make it easier for Iran to pursue the bomb in secret ]
The International Atomic Energy Agency, which is charged with monitoring Iran’s nuclear program, has consistently said Tehran remains in compliance with the commitments it made. No other country that negotiated the agreement with Iran has decided to back out of it.
The reimposition of U.S. sanctions makes it difficult for Iran to participate in international trade because so many financial transactions are done in U.S. dollars.
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, returning from Asia on Sunday night, told reporters that Iran’s clerical leaders are “bad actors” and that the administration aims to get Iran to “behave like a normal country.”
The White House hopes the sanctions will provide leverage over Tehran’s collapsing economy. The Iranian rial has been in a free fall as the deadline for the first round of sanctions neared. Previous sanctions were widely credited with getting Iran to the negotiating table, and the leadership, and the government’s promises that the deal would bear fruit with a booming economy never materialized.
The Reuters news agency, citing Iranian state television, said the country plans to try to prop up its currency by easing foreign exchange rules. The rial has lost about half its value since the spring.
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani is expected to give a speech around 1 p.m. Washington time, addressing the economy and Trump’s recent offer to meet with him.
The administration officials said the economy has lagged in large part because of widespread corruption and Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps domination. One official noted that almost 100 foreign companies have announced their intention to leave the Iranian market
“Foreign investors in Iran never know whether they are facilitating commerce or terrorism,” the official told reporters.
The sanctions will squeeze the Iranian economy much more, and the government has already started talking about the need to return to a n economy of resistance.
“We are very intent on using these financial sanctions to great economic leverage,” another administration official said, characterizing the economy as on a downward spiral even before the sanctions decision was made. “There’s no question financial sanctions are going to continue to bring significant financial pressure against the world’s largest state sponsor of terror.”
Anne Gearan and Felicia Sonmez in Washington and Erin Cunningham in Istanbul contributed to this report.
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