President Trump reasserted his willingness to reach a new Iran deal on Friday. This was just days before the United States is ready to reimpose a final round of sanctions on Tehran.
The sanctions are set to go into effect on Monday. This will mark the U.S.’s full departure from the 2015 Iran nuclear deal. Trump first announced his decision to withdraw the U.S. from the Obama-era deal in May.
“The United States remains open to reaching a new, more comprehensive deal with Iran that forever blocks its path to a nuclear weapon, addresses the entire range of its malign actions, and is worthy of the Iranian people,” Trump said in a statement released by the White House.
Trump said he left the “horrible, one-sided Iran nuclear deal” in order to pressure the Iranian government to end its “malign actions” in the Middle East. Trump did stress his continued support for the people of Iran.
“I want to be clear that United States actions are aimed at the regime and its threatening behavior—not at the long-suffering Iranian people,” the president said in the statement.
Critics of the United States, including Iranian leaders, have issued concerns that the sanctions are going to harm the workers of Iran.
“Our objective is to force the regime into a clear choice: either abandon its destructive behavior or continue down the path toward economic disaster,” Trump said.
Monday’s sanctions will not only target Iran’s energy sector, they will also hit Iran’s shipping, shipbuilding and financial sectors.
The nuclear deal rolled back sanctions against Tehran in exchange for a reduction in the country’s nuclear abilities. The sanctions have been reimposed in stages, with the final round going into effect on Monday.
What do you think the impact will be of this final move to completely withdraw from the Iran deal? Do you support President Trump in this effort?