Trump: We Will Sanction European Companies That Trade with Iran

Donald Trump, the President of the United States, warned that European companies that trade with Iran while ignoring U.S. sanctions will be subject to sanctions. In an interview broadcast on Sunday, July 1, on Fox News, Trump responded to a question from the program's host about whether the U.S. would sanction European companies dealing with Iran, saying, "Of course; that is definitely something we will do." The U.S. President also referred to recent protests in Iran, stating, "They are no longer thinking about going to the Mediterranean and intervening elsewhere; they are busy with their own affairs." On June 7, Trump emphasized that the U.S. withdrawal from the JCPOA has changed the behavior of Iranian officials in the region, saying, "They no longer pay much attention to the Mediterranean. Their focus on Syria and what is happening there has decreased; the same goes for Yemen and many other places." The U.S. exited the JCPOA on May 8, and following that, the U.S. Secretary of State warned that if the Iranian government does not change its behavior, in addition to the reinstatement of previous sanctions, Washington will impose "the most severe sanctions in history against Iran." In recent months, several major European companies, including the Italian company Eni, French companies Total and Boeing, Danish company Maersk, and Norwegian company Saga Energy, announced that they would end their dealings with Iran due to fears of U.S. sanctions. Currently, negotiations are ongoing between Iran and three European countries—Germany, France, and the UK—to "save the JCPOA despite U.S. sanctions," but according to Abbas Araghchi, Iran's Deputy Foreign Minister, the JCPOA should be considered in the ICU. "OPEC manipulates oil prices" Trump also accused the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) of manipulating oil prices in his interview with Fox News. The U.S. President noted that OPEC has increased its production ceiling "less than we thought last week," stating, "I think they should produce two million more barrels." Trump indicated that due to upcoming sanctions against Iran, the amount of oil in the global market will decrease, and he expects OPEC to fill that gap. OPEC oil ministers in their previous meeting approved a return to 100 percent compliance with the 2016 agreement without specifying a particular figure for members' shares. In 2016, OPEC and some non-OPEC producers committed to reducing their daily production by a total of 1.8 million barrels. However, due to a significant drop in oil production in Venezuela and also reductions in Libya and Angola, compliance with the production cut agreement rose to over 150 percent. On the other hand, some oil analysts have predicted that Saudi Arabia intends to increase its production, but an Iranian official warned that such an action would be "mocking OPEC." On Sunday, Trump announced that in his phone call with Saudi King Salman, the king committed to increasing the country's oil production. According to the German news agency, Trump's interview was recorded before his phone conversation with the Saudi king. The Saudi state media confirmed the phone call between the two leaders regarding the "global oil market" but did not mention any promises or agreements regarding an increase in oil production. However, according to the German news agency, the Saudi king referred to Iran as the "great enemy," which "may indicate that Saudi Arabia has interests in increasing production and filling the oil gap left by Iran." Tensions between Iran and Saudi Arabia, which are regional rivals, have escalated in recent years, leading to a severance of diplomatic relations between the two countries.