Reimposing US sanctions against Iran will further isolate Washington: Analyst

The reimposition of US sanctions against Iran on Monday following Washington’s withdrawal from the Iran nuclear deal in May will further isolate the US and decrease American influence around the world, an academic and analyst says.

“The world is going to stand with Iran… not the United States,” said James Fetzer, a retired professor of philosophy at the University of Wisconsin in Madison.

"It’s a tragedy that this giant step backward is taking place."

“It’s obviously a gross mistake and one more reason why [US President] Donald Trump and the United States are losing influence in the Middle East and elsewhere in the world,” Fetzer said in an interview with Press TV on Monday.

Trump’s decision to unilaterally pull out from the nuclear agreement - known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) - and reimpose sanctions against Iran has pitted the US against European powers, China and Russia, Fetzer said.

Dieter Kempf, head of the BDI, Germany’s main business lobby, echoed widespread European business concern about the potential destabilizing effect of the US sanctions.

“By using the global economy to pursue political goals, the US is straining international relations and the transatlantic partnership,” Kempf said. 

PressTV-US reimposes ‘toughest’ oil, economic sanctions on Iran

The US announces the reimposition of new and strengthened sanctions against Iran in an attempt "to force Tehran to change its behavior to Washington’s liking."

The Trump administration announced on Monday the reimposition of the “toughest” sanctions ever against Iran in an attempt to curtail the Islamic Republic’s oil exports and put extra pressure on the country's economy.

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin took the podium at the State Department’s Foreign Press Center in Washington to unveil what the White House claims will force Iran to abandon its nuclear and ballistic missile programs while rolling back Tehran’s influence in the Middle East region.

Pompeo said the US had successfully persuaded over 20 countries to stop or dramatically reduce their oil imports from Iran, causing Tehran’s overall sales to suffer by more than 1 million barrels per day.

The campaign of pressure had also taken away over $2.5 billion in Iran’s oil revenue, he further claimed.

Mnuchin also addressed reporters on Monday, noting that the US Treasury’s “largest ever single-day action” against Iran cover 50 Iranian banks and subsidiaries, more than 200 persons and vessels in its shipping sector, and the country’s national airline, Iran Air, and more than 65 of its aircraft.

According to Mnuchin, new sanctions also put nearly 250 persons and associated blocked property on the list of Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons (SDN List).

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