Israel’s prime minister has praised the restoration of U.S. sanctions on Iran that were lifted under the 2015 nuclear deal.
Benjamin Netanyahu, a staunch opponent of the agreement concluded by the Obama administration, said Saturday that President Donald Trump had made an “historic” decision by restoring sanctions against “the murderous terror regime in Iran that is endangering the entire world.”
In a statement from his office, Netanyahu said “the effect of the initial sanctions is already felt,” referring to a financial crisis in Iran that has triggered sporadic protests.
The Trump administration restored sanctions targeting Iran’s shipping, financial and energy sectors on Friday, but carved out exemptions for eight countries that can still import oil from Iran without penalty.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 2, 2018
For years, I’ve been calling for sanctions to be fully reimposed against Iran’s murderous terrorist regime, which threatens the entire world. The effect of the initial sanctions is already being felt: the rial has plummeted, Iran’s economy is depressed and the results are evident
— PM of Israel (@IsraeliPM) November 3, 2018
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said the sanctions are “aimed at fundamentally altering the behavior of the Islamic Republic of Iran.” He has released a list of 12 demands that Iran must meet if it wants the sanctions lifted. They include ending support for terrorism, ending military engagement in Syria and completely halting its nuclear and ballistic missile development.
“Maximum pressure means maximum pressure,” he said.
Pompeo said eight nations, which other officials identified as U.S. allies such as Italy, India, Japan and South Korea, will receive temporary waivers allowing them to continue to import Iranian petroleum products for a limited period as long as they end such imports entirely. He said those countries had made efforts to eliminate their imports but could not complete the task by Monday’s deadline.
Treasury Secretary Stephen Mnuchin said 700 more Iranian companies and people would be added to the sanctions lists under the reimposed sanctions.
Iran hard-liners in Congress and elsewhere probably will be disappointed in the sanctions because they were pushing for no oil import waivers as well as the complete disconnection of Iran from the main international financial messaging network known as SWIFT.
Mnuchin defended the move to allow some Iranian banks to remain connected to SWIFT, saying that the Belgium-based firm had been warned that it will face penalties if sanctioned institutions are permitted to use it.
Pompeo and Mnuchin both said the sanctions will have exceptions for humanitarian purchases.
(AP)
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