Pompeo: Iran is now feeling the impact of sanctions

Mike Pompeo, the U.S. Secretary of State, stated in a radio interview on Wednesday, November 1, that Iran is currently feeling the effects of U.S. sanctions, which will intensify next week when sanctions against the country's oil exports begin. When Donald Trump, the President of the United States, announced that Washington would withdraw from the nuclear deal with Iran, he gave other countries six months to reduce their oil imports from Iran to zero. This decision faced resistance from European countries that prefer to maintain the nuclear agreement with Iran. Mr. Pompeo also mentioned that German officials have not changed their position, but almost all German companies have made decisions contrary to their government’s stance to avoid risk. He added, 'They have fled. They have left Iran. They have decided not to be caught by the sanctions that President Trump will implement starting Monday.' The U.S. President then stated that he is confident Europeans will change course in the future. The sanctions have provoked strong protests in Tehran, with Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif describing them as an attack on a nation and stating that the U.S. is harming the Iranian people, as sanctions have never changed policies. However, Mike Pompeo rejected Mr. Zarif's remarks, stating, 'This is not the first time Mr. Zarif has made such threats. But he is not the real decision-maker; it is Ayatollah [Khamenei].' The U.S. Secretary of State then added, 'We have a very simple request. We want the Islamic Republic of Iran to behave like a normal country. If they do so, we will be happy to allow them to join the community of nations. But for now, we must continue our pressure.' The U.S. sanctions against Iran have had significant impacts, with statistics showing that Iran's oil exports dropped from 2.7 million barrels per day in June to 1.7 to 1.9 million barrels in September. The cost of living in Iran has also sharply increased, leading to protests against the Islamic Republic in various parts of the country.