US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has said that the US will apply unprecedented financial pressure on Iran, following President Trump's withdrawal from the Iran nuclear deal.
In a speech intended to unveil the administration’s plan to counter Iran, Pompeo said it would be the “strongest sanctions in history” aimed at forcing Iran to change its course in the Middle-East and curb its weapon programmes.
He said the US and its regional allies would take steps to counter what he called “Iranian aggression” and outlined 12 tough conditions for any new deal with Tehran.
“The United States will ensure Iran has no possible path to a nuclear weapon, ever,” said Mr Pompeo in his first major policy speech after taking over his position as the Secretary of State.
Experts believe it’s highly unlikely that the conditions outlined by Pompeo will be acceptable to Iran.
A few of the conditions listed by the US are:
• Iran must stop all enrichment and must give full accounting of past nuclear activities
• It must stop its ballistic missile program
• End support for Shiite Houthi rebels in Yemen, Hamas, Hezbollah, withdraw all forces from Syria and stop threatening Israel.
• It must all release all US citizens missing in Iran or being held on spurious charges.
If Iran agrees to return to the negotiating table and meets the demands, the US would be willing to lift all sanctions, restore full diplomatic and commercial ties and even support the modernization of its economy, said Secretary Pompeo.
"It is America's hope that our labors toward peace and security will bear fruit for the long-suffering people of Iran," Pompeo said.
He acknowledged that the new strategy would cause Europe financial difficulties but at the same time also warned them that the US will punish the companies that continue doing business with Iran.
"I know our allies in Europe may try to keep the old nuclear deal going with Tehran. That is their decision to make," Pompeo said. "They know where we stand."
In the past few weeks several European leaders have pleaded with Trump not to scuttle the deal and now they are trying to find ways to keep the deal alive.
For the sanctions to be effective, the US needs the support of European and Asian economies as the bulk of Iran’s trade takes place with those countries and not the US.