In a step to increase pressures on the Iranian regime and pro-Iranian parties, the US administration warned European states from trading with Tehran to avoid being penalized by Washington.
Asharq Al-Awsat learned from reliable sources at the State Department that in the past three months, US officials held intense meetings at several European capitals where they expressed Washington’s position
from the sanctions.
“Officials stressed that the US will not hesitate to enforce penalties on all parties that ignore Washington’s warnings from dealing with the Iranian regime,” the sources said.
The Trump administration prepares to impose the new wave of sanctions in two stages: August 6 and November 4.
The first batch of sanctions is expected to target trading in cars, gold and other metals, while the second would target Iran’s oil exports and transactions with the central bank.
The sources confirmed that 50 European and international companies already responded to the US warnings as Washington continues to work on making other companies comply with the sanctions.
Lately, Europeans had opposed the new wave of sanctions and they held a series of meetings with high-ranking Iranian officials to discuss the issuing of countermeasures that can help avoid European companies
from complying with the US measures.
“Washington aims to lessen Iran’s income from oil exports to zero,” the sources said, adding that Tehran fuels violence in regional states by investing incomes earned from the Nuclear Deal to disturb security in the region.
Multiple senior US officials who spoke to the Washington Free Beacon website about diplomatic efforts to pressure Europe on Iran said Congress and the Trump administration are issuing a stern warning to European partners: End all business ties with the Iranian regime or face harsh new sanctions in the coming months, a move that could impact international financial markets and US banks tied to foreign monetary institutions.
"The Iranian regime has and continues to use terrorism as a weapon in Europe," Richard Grenell, the US ambassador to Germany, told the Free Beacon. "We must be vigilant in finding out about their plans and stopping them before they succeed."
