US Set to Reimpose ‘Toughest Sanctions Ever’ on Iran

The United States on Nov. 5 will reimpose tough sanctions on the Iranian regime that were lifted as part of the Obama-era Iran deal.

The White House and the State Department announced the reimposition with days left before a deadline set by President Donald Trump in May. The sanctions target critical sectors of Iran’s economy, including its financial, energy, shipping, and shipbuilding industries.

The White House called the measures the “toughest sanctions ever,” adding that the move cuts off revenues which the Iranian regime directs to terrorist groups and nuclear and ballistic missile programs.

“The United States has launched a campaign of economic pressure to deny the regime the funds it needs to advance its bloody agenda,” Trump said in a statement.

The United States will temporarily allow eight jurisdictions to keep importing Iranian oil after the sanctions go in effect, according to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.

Pompeo did not disclose the list of the jurisdictions, but noted that the 28-nation European Union will not get a waiver. Turkey’s energy minister, Fatih Donmez, said his country had been told it would get a waiver.

Washington also made clear to the Brussels-based SWIFT financial messaging service that it was expected to disconnect all Iranian financial institutions that the United States plans to blacklist as of Nov. 5, according to U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin.

The restoration of the sanctions is part of Trump’s effort to counter Iran’s malign influence in the Middle East and around the world. The oil-rich regime funds proxy forces in Yemen, Syria, and Lebanon.

“This part of the campaign is aimed at depriving the regime of the revenues it uses to spread death and destruction around the world, Pompeo said. ”Our ultimate aim is to compel Iran to permanently abandon its well-documented outlier activities and behave as a normal country.”

The Nov. 5 sanctions also target transactions with the Central Bank of Iran and a list of Iranian financial institutions. The measures do not affect food and medicine.

Trump announced America’s withdrawal from the Iran deal on May 8. The president said at the time that the United States “will not be held hostage to nuclear blackmail.”

The United States considers Iran an “outlaw regime,” and accuses its leaders of illicit financial activities, threats to maritime security, cyberattacks, human rights abuses, and environmental exploitation.

Some of the sanctions against the regime were reimposed in August, targeting Iran’s automotive sector, currency, and trade in gold and precious metals.

Iran said it was not troubled over the re-imposition of U.S. sanctions.

“America will not be able to carry out any measure against our great and brave nation ... We have the knowledge and the capability to manage the country’s economic affairs,” Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Bahram Qasemi told state TV.

Reuters contributed to this report.