ANCHORAGE – US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo vowed Sunday that the UnitedStates would “enforce the sanctions” it is reimposing against Iran afterPresident Donald Trump pulled out of the 2015 nuclear pact.
As of 0401 GMT Tuesday, the Iran government can no longer buy US banknotesand broad sanctions will be slapped on Iranian industries, including itsrug exports.
Asked if Tehran would be able to evade the measures, Pompeo toldjournalists “the United States is going to enforce the sanctions,” speakingen route to Washington after attending a security forum in Singapore.
Pompeo said heaping pressure on Tehran was meant to “push back againstIranian malign activity,” saying Iranians “are unhappy with the failure oftheir own leadership to deliver the economic promises that their leadershippromised them.”
“The Iranian people are not happy, not with the Americans but with theirown leadership,” he said.
“This is just about Iranians dissatisfaction with their own government,and the President is pretty clear, we want the Iranian people to have astrong voice in who their leadership will be.”
The US walked out of the 2015 nuclear deal in May and is bringing back”maximum pressure” sanctions for most sectors on August 6, and the energysector on November 4. – APP/AFP