U.S. Treasury Secretary Announces Possibility of New Sanctions Against Iran

Steve Mnuchin, the Treasury Secretary under Donald Trump, recently spoke in Congress about the potential for new sanctions against Tehran, stating that these new sanctions would have "severe consequences for the Iranian economy." On April 22, during a meeting with members of the U.S. House of Representatives, Mnuchin implicitly mentioned the imposition of "primary and secondary sanctions" against Iran. He said, "If the President [Donald Trump] does not sign the waivers [for suspending sanctions related to the nuclear deal], the sanctions will automatically snap back." He added, "I believe that primary and secondary sanctions will have significant consequences for the Iranian economy, and this is something he [Trump] is currently considering and weighing." According to Bloomberg, Mnuchin responded to reporters' questions about whether sanctions would be imposed outside the scope of nuclear issues by saying, "You can guess that we are currently working on that." In the Congressional session, he also mentioned that the U.S. is working on issues beyond the sanctions related to the "JCPOA." Donald Trump emphasized in late January, when he ordered the suspension of sanctions related to the "JCPOA," that it would be the last time he would do so. He set conditions and called for amendments to the nuclear deal: making the limitations in the JCPOA permanent and removing the time limitations, including Iran's missile activities and restrictions related to them in the nuclear agreement, full inspections by the agency of all centers in Iran, and guarantees that Iran will never approach the construction of nuclear weapons. Iran has always denied seeking nuclear weapons. Tehran officials have also rejected revising the nuclear agreement, and currently, there are no signs that the Islamic Republic is willing to accept these conditions. The Russian Foreign Minister, a country that has close relations with Iran, also stated that any attempt to change the nuclear agreement of July 2015 would violate its provisions and the Security Council resolution endorsing this agreement. Mnuchin's comments about potential new sanctions against the Islamic Republic are not new, as Trump administration officials have repeatedly warned about conducting transactions with Iran in recent months; for example, two days ago, Sigal Mandelker, Mnuchin's deputy, welcomed proposed sanctions from several European countries and warned companies willing to trade with Iran. Mandelker had previously stated, "We have clearly stated both in the U.S. and outside of it that companies doing business in Iran face significant risks in conducting transactions with the IRGC or affiliated companies." The Iranian government, led by Hassan Rouhani, and the U.S. government, led by Barack Obama, along with France, the UK, Germany, China, and Russia, reached an agreement in July 2015 that limited or halted Iran's nuclear activities and lifted related sanctions. American Republicans had almost unanimously expressed their opposition to this agreement. Donald Trump has described this agreement as "the worst deal he has ever seen." On the other hand, Obama and his administration officials have described this agreement as a key factor in curbing Iran's nuclear program. The United States, both during the Obama administration and the current one, has criticized Iran's regional activities, imposing and enforcing separate sanctions against entities related to these activities, missile programs, "support for terrorism," human rights violators, and several other issues. However, within the framework of his new strategy towards Iran, Donald Trump has allowed his Treasury Department to add the IRGC to its list of sanctions. European powers are considered supporters of the nuclear agreement but have aligned with Trump's administration in protesting and condemning Iran's missile and regional activities.