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The United States has announced it will restore economic sanctions against Iran starting Tuesday at 12:01 a.m.
The sanctions had been lifted as part of the 2015 nuclear agreement orchestrated by then-President Barack Obama. President Donald Trump withdrew from the agreement this past May and promised Iran would face consequences for continuing to develop its missile programs and funding terrorism.
Despite the nuclear pact, Iran has continued to grow its uranium stockpiles and will soon be able to enrich the uranium. And earlier this year, Israeli spies stole Iranian documents exposing nuclear weapons designs. Recent revelations show how far Iran’s nuclear progress was 15 years ago.
BREAKING: Trump signs executive order reimposing many Iran sanctions, says US policy is to levy ‘maximum economic pressure’
— AP Politics (@AP_Politics) August 6, 2018
After midnight Monday, Iran will be prohibited from using the U.S. dollar. The sanctions also ban trade in metals and the sales of Iranian-made cars; revoke permits that allow importation of Iranian carpets and food; and revoke licenses allowing Tehran to buy American- and European-made aircraft and parts, according to the Washington Post.
The White House released the full text of the President’s Executive Order, which can be read here.
NEW: Trump admin reimposes sanctions “lifted under the horrible Iran deal.”
“Our policy is based on a clear-eyed assessment of the Iranian dictatorship, its sponsorship of terrorism, and its continuing aggression in the Middle East and all around the world,” Pres. Trump says. pic.twitter.com/QSs9CN8zXz
— ABC News (@ABC) August 6, 2018
U.S. officials said the restoration of these sanctions serves two purposes: to force Iran into renegotiating the nuclear agreement to address ballistic missile tests, and to force the government to change its behavior.
“The president has been very clear,” one official told the Washington Post. “None of this needs to happen… The Iranian people should not suffer because of their regime’s hegemonic ambitions.”
The U.S. has in the past supported the Iranian people who protest the country’s failing economy and other issues stemming from the regime.
“Our policy is based on a clear-eyed assessment of the Iranian dictatorship, its sponsorship of terrorism, and its continuing aggression in the Middle East and all around the world,” President Trump said in a press release.
Trump has long been critical of the Obama-era agreement, calling it an “embarrassment” and “one of the worst and most one-sided transactions the United States has ever entered into.”
On Saturday, the President tweeted: “Iran, and it’s economy, is going very bad, and fast! I will meet, or not meet, it doesn’t matter – it is up to them!”
Iran, and it’s economy, is going very bad, and fast! I will meet, or not meet, it doesn’t matter – it is up to them!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 4, 2018
The U.S. and Iran have recently exchanged comments back and forth on the world stage about whether or not the countries will meet, as Trump has said he is open to meeting with Iran “any time.”
