WASHINGTON _ Saying it will fight Iran's "demonic" ambitions, the Trump administration Monday announced it is reimposing harsh economic sanctions on Tehran as part of a strategy to curb its ability to build a nuclear bomb.
The sanctions will target numerous areas of Iranian economic activity, including the automotive and precious metals industries. They go into effect at 12:01 a.m. Tuesday, senior administration officials said.
"We can have no further illusions about (Iran's) intentions" to foment terrorism throughout the Middle East, from the Gaza Strip to Yemen, an administration official said.
"It is time to put an end to the fiction" that the landmark 2015 Iran nuclear deal was in fact preventing the Islamic Republic from developing nuclear and ballistic-missile technologies, the official added.
Supporters of the deal say that, while flawed, it has successfully prevented Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon in at least the medium term. United Nations inspectors, whom Iran agreed to admit regularly, say Iran has largely complied with the deal's restrictions.
The revived sanctions ban most transactions with Iran's central bank; its network of ports and insurance companies; the purchase of Iranian sovereign debt; and trade in gold, graphite, aluminum and other precious metals.
The hard-fought Iran nuclear deal, signed by the Obama administration with China, Russia, the United Kingdom, Germany and France, required Iran to dismantle its nuclear-production infrastructure, mothballing centrifuges used to enrich uranium, disabling its plutonium-producing heavy-water reactor and getting rid of nearly its entire stockpile of enriched uranium.
In exchange, crippling U.N. sanctions on Iran were eased and billions of dollars in Iranian assets were unfrozen and returned. Tehran was allowed to rejoin the world economy, trading oil and participating in financial markets.
But President Trump disdained the deal, saying it was too weak and did not do enough to curb Iran's other "malign behavior" including support for militant groups in the region and repression of domestic opposition.
In May, Trump withdrew from the deal, despite intense lobbying from Europe not to do so. Europeans and others said they will attempt to keep the deal alive, but they risk being penalized by Washington if their companies continue to do business with Iran.
Administration officials, who briefed reporters Monday on condition of anonymity, rejected the criticism that the revived U.S. sanctions will be less effective than the earlier Obama-era package because other key world leaders like China and the European Union are not onboard.
"We've seen ... company after company after company getting out (of Iran), so there's no doubt (pressure) is working," a senior administration official said.
Veteran Iran watchers say Washington's demands are tantamount to seeking a new government in Tehran or urging Iranians to overthrow their leaders. The officials denied that was the official goal.
"Our stated policy is not to bring about regime change but to change behavior of the regime," said one of the officials. Another official added that, "The Iranian people are seeking the same thing."
A second batch of sanctions that will more directly target Iran's petroleum industry is set to go into effect in 90 days.
