In a bid to sustain trade and economic relations with Iran, the European Union is looking to its so-called ‘blocking statute’ that will forbid European companies from complying with enacted U.S. sanctions.
On Monday, European Union foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini, in conjunction with the top diplomats of Britain, France and, for that matter, Germany, released a joint statement expressing ‘deep regret’ over the re-imposition of American sanctions on the Islamic Republic.
US President Donald Trump has signed an executive order to restore nuclear-related sanctions on Iran, increasing economic pressure on Tehran and renewing his criticism of what he called a ‘horrible, one-sided’ nuclear deal, the White House announced Monday.
European businesses that pull out of Iran because of US sanctions may end up being sued by EU states.
The first set of U.S. sanctions against Iran that had been eased under the landmark nuclear accord went back into effect early Tuesday under an executive order signed by President Donald Trump, targeting financial transactions that involve U.S. dollars, Iran’s automotive sector, the purchase of commercial planes and metals including gold.
Congress and the Trump administration are issuing a stern warning to European partners: End all business ties with the Iranian regime or face harsh new sanctions in the coming months, a move that could impact international financial markets and U.S. banks tied to foreign monetary institutions, according to multiple senior U.S. officials who spoke to the Washington Free Beacon about diplomatic efforts to pressure Europe on Iran.
Turkey’s Islamist government vowed late Wednesday to respond to the imposition of U.S. sanctions against two of its government ministers over the treatment of an American pastor, and one of the targeted ministers shrugged off the move, saying he had no financial interests in the United States.
A Turkish court rejected an appeal on Tuesday for an American pastor to be released from house arrest during his trial on terrorism charges, his lawyer said, in a case that has raised the threat of U.S. sanctions against Ankara.
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan struck a defiant tone on Sunday in response to US President Donald Trump’s threat to impose sanctions on Turkey if it didn’t release American pastor Andrew Brunson, who has been held in Turkish detention for the past two years.
Iran’s currency hit a record low on Sunday of 100,000 rials to the dollar amid a deepening economic crisis and the imminent return of full US sanctions.
President Donald Trump threatened to impose economic sanctions on Turkey on Thursday for detaining an American pastor facing terrorism charges.
Iran’s loss may be Libya’s gain. The prospect that U.S. sanctions will drastically curb Tehran’s oil exports is feeding interest in Libya’s oil reserves and has even sparked movement toward economic and political reform in one of the region’s most unstable states.
Turkey plans to keep purchasing Iranian oil in defiance of American sanctions on the rogue regime, according to the NATO ally’s top diplomat.
President Trump offered European nations and other countries a zero-tariff deal as a way out of an escalating trade war, but so far he has no takers despite a zero-tariff agreement signed last week between the European Union and Japan.
The United States rejected appeals from the European Union to give exemptions to EU countries that would be affected by sanctions on Iran.
Top Trump administration officials are working to stop Germany from allowing Iran to fly more than $350 million in cash out of the country and back to Tehran as part of a bid by the Iranian regime to restock its coffers ahead of a major financial crackdown by America, according to conversations with senior U.S. diplomats and officials on Capitol Hill.
The White House will strictly enforce the upcoming secondary sanctions on companies that do business with Iran, President Trump reaffirmed on Sunday.
European Union leaders agreed on Friday to extend their economic sanctions against Russia for annexing Crimea from Kiev and backing rebels fighting government troops in east Ukraine, an EU official said.
The Palestinian Authority on Tuesday expressed fear that the talk about easing restrictions on the Gaza Strip was part of an Israeli-Palestinian ‘conspiracy’ to transform the Palestinian cause into a ‘humanitarian issue.’
Iran on Wednesday reopened a nuclear enrichment plant that has been inactive since 2009, as Tehran geared up to bolster its enrichment activities should the 2015 nuclear deal collapse.