Israeli Ministers Welcome Return of Sanctions Against Iran

On Monday, August 6, the senior intelligence and security ministers of the Israeli government welcomed the return of sanctions against Iran. According to a decision by the U.S. government, sanctions that had been suspended under the nuclear agreement will be re-implemented starting Tuesday, August 7, Tehran time. Subsequent sanctions against Iran, which will be much harsher than the first round and will target Iran's oil industry, are set to take effect on November 4. Israel Katz, the Israeli Minister of Intelligence, tweeted on Monday that the return of sanctions will either lead Iran to a better agreement or their regime will face collapse; he expressed that "the first option is good, and the second is excellent." Avigdor Lieberman, the Israeli Minister of Defense, also tweeted that the return of sanctions is "a decisive fight to deter the criminal regime of the mullahs." Lieberman described President Donald Trump's decision to re-establish sanctions against Iran as a "brave step" that, according to him, "future generations will remember." He stated that the Ayatollah regime is "promoting terror, violence, and hatred throughout the Middle East." Each senior Israeli minister who welcomed the return of sanctions against Iran has yet to respond to four consecutive proposals from Donald Trump in the past eight days for "unconditional" negotiations with Iran. Zachi Hanegbi, the Minister of Regional Cooperation from the Likud party, told a local radio station last week that Trump, with this proposal, has put Iranian officials in a "corner" and while Tehran sought to create a rift between Europe and the U.S., America has drawn Europe closer to itself and shown that it is ready for dialogue. The process of reinstating sanctions against Iran began on May 8 after the deadline set by Donald Trump for amending the nuclear agreement expired, with the announcement of the U.S. withdrawal from the JCPOA. At that time, the U.S. Treasury Department announced that sanctions against Iran would be resumed in two 90-day and 180-day periods. Both the current U.S. government and Israel considered the JCPOA insufficient to address all aspects of Iran's behavior, including its missile program and regional presence, and Israel has long sought a complete change or cancellation of the nuclear agreement. In this context, Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli Prime Minister who has been a staunch critic of the negotiations leading to the JCPOA, recently claimed in a closed-door meeting among Likud party activists that he "stood alone against the world" and convinced Donald Trump to withdraw from the JCPOA. In recent weeks, during his European trips, the Israeli Prime Minister emphasized to executives of major European companies that the positions of France, Germany, and Britain regarding the preservation of the JCPOA will not be practical because European companies are concerned about their own interests. The sanctions that will be imposed against Iran starting Tuesday morning include a ban on the sale of dollars, extensive trade sanctions on gold and precious metals, semi-finished metals, raw materials, graphite, a ban on facilities regarding Iran's debts, the buying and selling and provision of aircraft parts, port activities, shipping, and Iran's shipbuilding industries, Iranian shipping lines, southern shipping, and affiliated companies, as well as Iran's automotive industry. These sanctions also cover oil transactions and any purchase of petrochemical materials from Iran, the National Iranian Oil Company and Iranian tanker manufacturing, financial exchanges between international institutions with the Central Bank of Iran or Iranian financial institutions, a ban on investment in the energy sector, and cooperation with Iran within the framework of service and insurance commitments. The second round of sanctions, which will be resumed on November 4, primarily targets Iran's oil industry, and U.S. officials have expressed hope that by then, Iran's oil exports will reach "zero." Iran has stated that if its oil is not exported, other countries will not be able to do so either; this statement has been interpreted as a threat by Iran to close the Strait of Hormuz and even the Bab el-Mandeb strait in the Red Sea. Benjamin Netanyahu said last Wednesday that if Iran and its "proxies" close the Bab el-Mandeb, they will find themselves facing "a decisive international coalition of which Israel will also be a part with all its arms." On the other hand, according to ISNA, Mohammad Javad Zarif, the Iranian Foreign Minister, said on Monday that his country will "proudly overcome the difficult period of sanctions" and that "nothing will happen to Iran" because "this time the world stands behind Iran" and "Iran's current situation is much better than before the previous sanctions." Zarif claimed that "Iran is not isolated in the world, but (Benjamin) Netanyahu, (Donald) Trump, and (Mohammed) bin Salman (the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia) are isolated in the world." He added that "Netanyahu has taken his tricks to the point that he tweets a message every day and sheds crocodile tears for the people of Iran." The Iranian Foreign Minister's reference is to three recent messages from the Israeli Prime Minister addressed to the people of Iran, published on social media, in which he emphasized that with the collapse of the ruling regime in Iran, Israel will be the first country to renew its long-standing friendship with Iran and its people. However, the Iranian Foreign Minister speculated about an unwritten alliance between Israel and Saudi Arabia, claiming that Israel is "determined to destroy the existence of Iran" and that "our immature neighbors are also in this delusion." In this context, the first round of sanctions against Iran began with an executive order from Donald Trump.