US to reinstate sanctions on Iran

The United States of America has decided to reinstate the sanctions on Iran, following its exit from the nuclear deal.

The Trump administration will restore the sanctions which were lifted by former president Barack Obama in 2015 to create pressure on Iran while creating a rift with Europe, reported the New York Times.

This comes after the United States Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Sunday said that the sanctions to be re-imposed on Monday are an important pillar in the US policy toward Iran.

Pompeo further said that the goal of these sanctions is to get Iran to stop supporting the ill- governance and uprisings in the Middle-East, adding that "enormous change" is required by the Iranian government to break free of the U.S. sanctions.

 

"They've got to behave like a normal country," he added.

With the sanctions reinforced any transactions with Iran involving dollar bank notes, gold, precious metals, aluminium, steel, commercial passenger aircraft and coal, and the imports of Iranian carpets and foodstuffs into the United States will be prohibited.

More sanctions will be imposed on Iran in November including barring Iran's sale of crude oil and transactions with its Central Bank, the report highlighted.

In order to protect European companies from any penalties imposed by the United States for doing business with or in Iran, EU has updated a blocking statute.

In 2015, six countries - Iran, US, Britain, Germany, Russia, France, and China- signed the Iran nuclear deal, for lifting economic sanctions on Tehran in exchange for limitations to the country's nuclear programme.

However, Trump announced the US' withdrawal from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) or the Iran nuclear deal in May, which limited the country's uranium enrichment in exchange for sanctions relief.

Calling the accord as an "embarrassment" that was "defective at its core", the US President then warned of severe consequences if Iran resumed its nuclear programme.