The first round of US sanctions against Iran begins

The first round of US sanctions against Iran began at dawn on Tuesday, August 7, Washington time. Trump signed an executive order to begin these sanctions yesterday. Bolton said that Iran should accept the offer of negotiations to avoid sanctions.

The first round of US sanctions against Iran began this morning, Tuesday (August 7). The first phase of US sanctions against Iran includes sanctions on the purchase and supply of US dollars by the Iranian government, sanctions on trade in gold and precious metals, sanctions related to the purchase, storage or direct or indirect transfer of graphite, sanctions on the purchase of raw materials or semi-finished metals such as aluminum and iron, coal and software used in industrial processes, and sanctions related to Iran's automobile industry.

These sanctions had previously been suspended with the signing of the nuclear agreement between major powers and Iran and the start of implementation of the JCPOA. However, the Trump administration withdrew from the JCPOA last May and announced that it would reactivate sanctions against Iran.

The sanctions have now been reactivated by the signing of an executive order by US President Donald Trump yesterday (Monday, August 6).

The text released by the White House on Monday afternoon, titled "Statement from the President on the Reimposition of United States Sanctions on Iran," stated that today the United States will begin steps to reimpose sanctions related to Iran's nuclear program, sanctions that were suspended with the signing of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).

In his executive order, Donald Trump defended his unilateral withdrawal from the nuclear deal, once again calling it a “terrible” agreement. He said the agreement was not only inadequate to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon, but also a source of funding for a “deadly dictatorship” in Iran and its continued “spread of violence and chaos” by Iran.

The US President expressed his satisfaction that many international companies have announced their readiness to leave the Iranian market. He said that many countries have announced that they will reduce or completely stop importing crude oil from Iran.

Trump added that the United States will call on all countries in the world to take such actions to make it clear that the Iranian regime faces a choice: either it must change its threatening and destabilizing behavior and re-integrate into the global economy, or it will continue its economic isolation.

John Bolton: Iran should accept the offer of negotiations

An hour after Trump issued an executive order, US President Donald Trump's National Security Advisor John Bolton announced that Iran should accept Donald Trump's offer of negotiations if it wants to prevent the reimposition of sanctions.

Speaking to the American Fox News network, Bolton called on Iran to completely and verifiably abandon its "military nuclear program" and "ballistic missile program" and enter into negotiations with the United States.

The US President's National Security Advisor emphasized: "If the Iranian ayatollahs want to be free from the pressure of sanctions, they must sit at the negotiating table with the United States." Bolton added that US pressure on Iran will not be reduced during the negotiations.

Yesterday, in response to Donald Trump's offer of negotiations without preconditions, Hassan Rouhani said, "Their goal in raising the issue of negotiations is to create psychological warfare for the Iranian people."

Rouhani added: "We also negotiated with them in the current US administration, including with the country's foreign minister, who held negotiations, but the point is that the one who walked out of the negotiations was the Trump administration. Otherwise, our country has always welcomed negotiations, provided that there is honesty on the other side."

In his interview with Fox News, Bolton also made it clear that the United States is not the only one who can change the Iranian regime. He said, "We want to put enough pressure on the Iranian government to change its behavior."

Source: DW