Pompeo vows to enforce ‘maximum pressure’ sanctions
06 August, 2018
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo declared on Sunday that Washington would “enforce the sanctions” it is reimposing against Iran after President Donald Trump withdrew from the 2015 nuclear agreement, AFP reported.
As of 0401 GMT on Tuesday, the Iranian government can no longer buy US banknotes and sweeping sanctions will be imposed on the Middle East country’s industries.
Asked if Tehran would be able to evade the sanctions, Pompeo told reporters that “the United States is going to enforce the sanctions.”
Pompeo said the increased pressure on Iran’s government was intended to “push back against Iranian malign activity,” adding that Iranians “are unhappy with the failure of their own leadership to deliver the economic promises that their leadership promised them.”
He continued: “The Iranian people are not happy, not with the Americans but with their own leadership.
“This is just about Iranians’ dissatisfaction with their own government, and the president is pretty clear – we want the Iranian people to have a strong voice in who their leadership will be.”
Washington withdrew from the 2015 nuclear agreement in May and is reimposing “maximum pressure” sanctions on most sectors on August 6, and the energy sector on November 4.
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