Secretary of State Mike Pompeo defended the Trump administration’s decision to reimpose sanctions against Iran.
“The sanctions that will be re-imposed tomorrow are the toughest sanctions ever put in place on the Islamic Republic of Iran,” Pompeo said on “Fox News Sunday.”
Pompeo said that President Trump’s policy of “maximum pressure will be fully in place as of tomorrow.”
Eight countries have received waivers from the U.S. sanctions to continue to import Iranian oil. Pompeo would not name the countries, but said they “need a little bit more time to get to zero” and could even get an extension from the administration beyond six months.
But the sanctions have already had “an enormous impact,” he said, pointing to a reduction in crude oil exports by Iran.
.@SecPompeo: “The sanctions that will be re-imposed tomorrow are the toughest sanctions ever put in place on the Islamic Republic of Iran,” #FNS pic.twitter.com/WBYynDqVFt
— FoxNewsSunday (@FoxNewsSunday) November 4, 2018
Iranian protesters chanted “death to America” on Sunday, a protest that was broadcast on state television ahead of the sanctions officially going into effect.
Sunday is also the anniversary of the U.S. embassy’s seizure during the 1979 Islamic Revolution.
The decision to grant several waivers for oil imports also caused consternation among Iran hawks Thursday evening, but the administration mitigated some of that frustration by making clear that the money used to pay for the oil will be deposited in foreign accounts that Iran will be allowed to draw upon only to make permissible purchases related to trade or humanitarian goods.
In May, Trump announced that the U.S. was withdrawing from the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, reached by his predecessor, former President Barack Obama.
The first set of sanctions on gold, energy, and Iran’s central bank returned in August. The latest round of sanctions snap back into place at midnight Eastern Time on Monday.
“The Treasury Department will add more than 700 names to our list of blocked entities,” said Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin on a Friday conference call with Pompeo and reporters. “This includes hundreds of targets previously granted sanctions relief under under the JCPOA, as well as more than 300 new designations. This is substantially more than we ever have previously done.”
Pompeo and Mnuchin are expected to give more details about the sanctions on Monday.
