WASHINGTON: US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Monday warned Tehran would be hit with the "strongest sanctions in history" and cautioned European companies against continuing to do trade with it, toughening up Washington's coverage line after its withdrawal from the Iran nuclear deal.
In his first major international coverage deal with since transferring to the State Department from the CIA, the longtime Iran hawk and ardent opponent of the 2015 nuclear pact outlined an competitive sequence of strikes designed to counter Tehran, which he referred to as the world's most sensible sponsor of terror.
"We will apply unprecedented financial pressure on the Iranian regime. The leaders in Tehran will have no doubt about our seriousness," Pompeo mentioned in a speech on the conservative Heritage Foundation suppose tank.
"This sting of sanctions will be painful if the regime does not change its course from the unacceptable and unproductive path it has chosen to one that rejoins the league of nations."
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani quickly brushed aside the threats, saying the remainder of the world now not accepts Washington making selections on their behalf.
"Who are you to decide for Iran and the world?" Rouhani mentioned in a observation carried via a couple of Iranian news companies.
"The world today does not accept that the United States decides for the world. Countries have their independence," he added.
Pompeo mentioned if Iran had been to abide via stricter phrases, together with ending its ballistic missile program and its interventions in regional conflicts from Yemen to Syria, the United States would elevate its new sanctions.
President Donald Trump has lengthy mentioned the 2015 care for Iran -- also signed via Britain, China, France, Germany and Russia -- did not pass a long way enough, and now wants the Europeans and others to reinforce his hardline strategy.
The deal used to be designed to forestall Iran from growing a nuclear weapon. The global community, together with most sensible US officers, have mentioned Tehran were in compliance.
But Trump despised the deal, pointing to different sides of Iranian conduct now not covered in the pact, and on May eight he pulled America out despite intense diplomatic lobbying via European allies who had beseeched him to stick with it via including more difficult new components.
Instead of suggesting a re-negotiation of the Iran deal, Pompeo outlined 12 difficult stipulations from Washington for any "new deal" with Tehran to verify it "will never again have carte blanche to dominate the Middle East."
These necessarily deal with every side of Iran's missile program and what the US calls its "malign influence" across the region, together with reinforce for Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, Hezbollah and Huthi rebels in Yemen.
"It must cease its threatening behavior against its neighbors," Pompeo mentioned.
Rouhani compared the feedback as akin to these made via the administration of George W. Bush ahead of the 2003 Iraq invasion.
"The era of such statements has evolved and the Iranian people have heard these statements hundreds of times, and no longer pays attention," Rouhani added.
Iran foe Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu hailed Pompeo's speech, and instructed the remainder of the world to observe swimsuit.
"The US policy is correct. Iran is spreading aggressively throughout the Middle East. It aspires to achieve nuclear weapons by various means," Netanyahu mentioned.
European allies heard how Pompeo expects their reinforce for the brand new US plan -- but he presented not anything in return, and threatened economic fallout for somebody still dealing with the Islamic Republic.
"We understand that our re-imposition of sanctions and the coming pressure campaign on the Iranian regime will pose financial and economic difficulties for a number of our friends," he mentioned.
"We want to hear their concerns. But you know, we will hold those doing prohibited business in Iran to account."
The re-establishment of US sanctions will drive European corporations to choose from making an investment in Iran or buying and selling with the United States.
In reality, there is not any choice -- European corporations can not manage to pay for to forsake the US marketplace.
For now, the European Union is attempting to influence Iran to stay in the 2015 agreement, even without Washington's participation.
Russia and China have also criticized the US move and vowed to care for trade with Iran.
British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson mentioned one of these "jumbo Iran deal" Pompeo envisioned would now not be "very easy to achieve in anything like a reasonable timescale."
And the EU's international coverage leader mentioned there used to be "no alternative" to the Iran nuclear deal.
"Secretary Pompeo's speech has not demonstrated how walking away from the JCPOA (nuclear deal) has made or will make the region safer from the threat of nuclear proliferation or how it puts us in a better position to influence Iran's conduct in areas outside the scope of JCPOA," Federica Mogherini mentioned.
German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas, attending a G20 international ministers' meeting in Buenos Aires, mentioned he used to be now not surprised via Pompeo's critique of the Iran deal, before including: "We do not see at this time a better alternative."
"We believe that without this agreement, we would take the risk that Iran resumes its nuclear program," he mentioned.
Maas mentioned he'll go back and forth to Washington to talk with Pompeo this week.
Critics rounded on Pompeo's speech, saying his calls for may have been made without pulling America from the nuclear deal.
"Pompeo has not outlined a strategy, but rather a grab bag of wishful thinking that can only be interpreted as a call for regime change in Iran," Suzanne Maloney of the Brookings' Center for Middle East Policy wrote on Twitter.
Meanwhile, Pentagon spokesman Colonel Rob Manning mentioned the army used to be weighing "new actions" to counter Iran's influence in the Middle East, but he wired this used to be part of a "whole of government" way and presented no main points.
In his first major international coverage deal with since transferring to the State Department from the CIA, the longtime Iran hawk and ardent opponent of the 2015 nuclear pact outlined an competitive sequence of strikes designed to counter Tehran, which he referred to as the world's most sensible sponsor of terror.
"We will apply unprecedented financial pressure on the Iranian regime. The leaders in Tehran will have no doubt about our seriousness," Pompeo mentioned in a speech on the conservative Heritage Foundation suppose tank.
"This sting of sanctions will be painful if the regime does not change its course from the unacceptable and unproductive path it has chosen to one that rejoins the league of nations."
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani quickly brushed aside the threats, saying the remainder of the world now not accepts Washington making selections on their behalf.
"Who are you to decide for Iran and the world?" Rouhani mentioned in a observation carried via a couple of Iranian news companies.
"The world today does not accept that the United States decides for the world. Countries have their independence," he added.
Pompeo mentioned if Iran had been to abide via stricter phrases, together with ending its ballistic missile program and its interventions in regional conflicts from Yemen to Syria, the United States would elevate its new sanctions.
President Donald Trump has lengthy mentioned the 2015 care for Iran -- also signed via Britain, China, France, Germany and Russia -- did not pass a long way enough, and now wants the Europeans and others to reinforce his hardline strategy.
The deal used to be designed to forestall Iran from growing a nuclear weapon. The global community, together with most sensible US officers, have mentioned Tehran were in compliance.
But Trump despised the deal, pointing to different sides of Iranian conduct now not covered in the pact, and on May eight he pulled America out despite intense diplomatic lobbying via European allies who had beseeched him to stick with it via including more difficult new components.
Instead of suggesting a re-negotiation of the Iran deal, Pompeo outlined 12 difficult stipulations from Washington for any "new deal" with Tehran to verify it "will never again have carte blanche to dominate the Middle East."
These necessarily deal with every side of Iran's missile program and what the US calls its "malign influence" across the region, together with reinforce for Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, Hezbollah and Huthi rebels in Yemen.
"It must cease its threatening behavior against its neighbors," Pompeo mentioned.
Rouhani compared the feedback as akin to these made via the administration of George W. Bush ahead of the 2003 Iraq invasion.
"The era of such statements has evolved and the Iranian people have heard these statements hundreds of times, and no longer pays attention," Rouhani added.
Iran foe Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu hailed Pompeo's speech, and instructed the remainder of the world to observe swimsuit.
"The US policy is correct. Iran is spreading aggressively throughout the Middle East. It aspires to achieve nuclear weapons by various means," Netanyahu mentioned.
European allies heard how Pompeo expects their reinforce for the brand new US plan -- but he presented not anything in return, and threatened economic fallout for somebody still dealing with the Islamic Republic.
"We understand that our re-imposition of sanctions and the coming pressure campaign on the Iranian regime will pose financial and economic difficulties for a number of our friends," he mentioned.
"We want to hear their concerns. But you know, we will hold those doing prohibited business in Iran to account."
The re-establishment of US sanctions will drive European corporations to choose from making an investment in Iran or buying and selling with the United States.
In reality, there is not any choice -- European corporations can not manage to pay for to forsake the US marketplace.
For now, the European Union is attempting to influence Iran to stay in the 2015 agreement, even without Washington's participation.
Russia and China have also criticized the US move and vowed to care for trade with Iran.
British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson mentioned one of these "jumbo Iran deal" Pompeo envisioned would now not be "very easy to achieve in anything like a reasonable timescale."
And the EU's international coverage leader mentioned there used to be "no alternative" to the Iran nuclear deal.
"Secretary Pompeo's speech has not demonstrated how walking away from the JCPOA (nuclear deal) has made or will make the region safer from the threat of nuclear proliferation or how it puts us in a better position to influence Iran's conduct in areas outside the scope of JCPOA," Federica Mogherini mentioned.
German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas, attending a G20 international ministers' meeting in Buenos Aires, mentioned he used to be now not surprised via Pompeo's critique of the Iran deal, before including: "We do not see at this time a better alternative."
"We believe that without this agreement, we would take the risk that Iran resumes its nuclear program," he mentioned.
Maas mentioned he'll go back and forth to Washington to talk with Pompeo this week.
Critics rounded on Pompeo's speech, saying his calls for may have been made without pulling America from the nuclear deal.
"Pompeo has not outlined a strategy, but rather a grab bag of wishful thinking that can only be interpreted as a call for regime change in Iran," Suzanne Maloney of the Brookings' Center for Middle East Policy wrote on Twitter.
Meanwhile, Pentagon spokesman Colonel Rob Manning mentioned the army used to be weighing "new actions" to counter Iran's influence in the Middle East, but he wired this used to be part of a "whole of government" way and presented no main points.
US to impose 'strongest sanctions in history' on Iran
![US to impose 'strongest sanctions in history' on Iran]()
Reviewed by Kailash
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May 23, 2018
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