Trump set to shut down Iran in new sanctions
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he did not name the eight countries but they are believed to include india japan south korea and possibly china1 the united states will add 700 individuals and entities to its iran blacklist and push the swift global banking network to cut tehran off when it reimposes sanctions monday in a maximum pressure effort to cripple the countrys economy1 there will also be sanctions to cut off tehrans ability to export oil the countrys most crucial foreign exchange earner though us secretary of state mike pompeo said eight importers would be given exemptions in exchange for slowing their purchases a bid to avoid upsetting the global crude market1 the reimposition of sanctions is aimed at depriving the regime of the revenues it uses to spread death and destruction around the world pompeo said1 our ultimate aim is to compel iran to permanently abandon its well-documented outlaw activities and behave as a normal country1 when trump withdrew from the nuclear deal struck between world powers and iran he began reimposing sanctions that had been suspended or removed by his predecessor barack obama1 that process will be completed starting from midnight sunday us eastern time when sanctions on the regimes banks shippers shipbuilders and oil sector are imposed1 the impact remains in question as other countries particularly washingtons european allies are resisting joining its effort to economically strangle the tehran regime1 britain france germany and the european union strongly condemned the us move as they did when washington withdrew in may from the iran nuclear deal the joint comprehensive plan of action1 the jcpoa is a key element of the global nuclear non-proliferation architecture and of multilateral diplomacy they said1 it is crucial for the security of europe the region and the entire world. the jcpoa is working and delivering on its goal1 pompeo said the us would grant exemptions to eight countries that have pledged to or have already cut back on purchases of petroleum from iran which has long depended on crude exports to power its economy1 us officials said friday they were determined to force tehran to give up its nuclear activities and what the us says is broad support for terrorism in the region reimposing severe economic penalties six months after president donald trumps administration quit the 2015 iran nuclear deal1 irans northern neighbor turkey said it was one of the eight1 we know turkey is among the countries that will be given an exemption but we do not have the details energy minister fatih donmez said according to state-run news agency anadolu1 pompeo said the countries agreed that the payments for the oil would go into escrow accounts that iran will only be able to tap for humanitarian trade or bilateral trade in non-sanctioned goods and services1 maximum pressure means maximum pressure pompeo said1 to punish iranian banks us treasury secretary steve mnuchin said swift which enables secure bank-to-bank communications and transactions will also face sanctions if it provides services to blacklisted iranian financial institutions1 the us blacklist includes most major iranian banks1 that could make it extremely difficult for iran to do business with other countries1 swift is no different than any other entity mnuchin said1 the us wants the shiite clerical regime to withdraw from war-ravaged syria where it is a critical ally of president bashar al-assad and to end longstanding support to regional militant movements hezbollah and hamas1 it also wants iran to stop backing yemens huthi rebels who are facing a us-supported air campaign led by saudi arabia1 its important to keep our eyes on the prize when it comes to iranian revenues whether they be derived from oil or any other sort of sanctionable transaction. the goal is to target and tie up these revenues to change irans calculus said behnam ben taleblu of the foundation for defense of democracies1