U.S. Ministers Emphasize Efforts to Apply 'Unprecedented Economic Pressure' on Iran

Hours after the announcement that the French would not be exempt from sanctions against Iran, Bloomberg reported that no European countries would receive exemptions in this regard, aiming to apply 'unprecedented economic pressure' on the Islamic Republic. The report cites two ministers in Donald Trump's administration stating that this pressure will continue until there is an 'objective, visible, and sustained change' in Tehran's policies. Bloomberg's report, published on Friday, July 13, noted the negative response from the U.S. Secretaries of State and Treasury to European requests for exemptions from unilateral sanctions against Iran. According to the report, this 'undated' letter was written by Mike Pompeo, Secretary of State, and Steve Mnuchin, Secretary of the Treasury, to the finance and foreign ministers of Britain, France, and Germany. This official letter is a response to a formal request sent from European capitals to Washington in mid-June. In the ongoing efforts of the European Union to save their companies from U.S. unilateral sanctions following Trump's withdrawal from the JCPOA, a formal letter was sent in mid-June, signed by the foreign and finance ministers of the three countries—Britain, Germany, and France—along with Federica Mogherini, the EU's foreign policy chief, to Steve Mnuchin. The signatories of the letter outlined several key economic sectors and requested that the U.S. exempt companies active in these sectors from sanctions. Among the economic sectors mentioned in the Europeans' letter were pharmaceuticals and healthcare, energy, automotive, civilian aerospace, infrastructure, and banking. Hours after the French finance minister announced that the U.S. had rejected French companies' requests, it was reported that none of the Europeans had achieved exemptions. The two U.S. ministers emphasized in their letter that the goal of the Trump administration is to exert pressure on the Islamic Republic, a pressure that will not cease until there is an 'objective, visible, and sustained change' in Tehran's policies. Pompeo and Mnuchin wrote in their letter: 'Therefore, we are not in a position to make exceptions in this policy, except in very specific cases that are clearly in our national security interest.' It seems that the U.S. government has firmly resolved in this regard, especially since Trump himself believes that his withdrawal from the JCPOA and subsequent threats have already had results and effects. On June 7, Trump emphasized that the U.S. exit from the JCPOA has caused a change in the behavior of Iranian officials in the region, stating: 'They no longer pay much attention to the Mediterranean. Their focus on Syria and what is happening there has diminished; 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 toughest sanctions in history' on Tehran.