President Trump
Photo: AFP
Trump promises to sanction European firms trading with Iran
In interview with Fox News, US president also warns Iran is ‘going to have a very big problem’ if reports prove correct that Tehran is continuing to enrich uranium after US quit Iranian nuclear deal.
US President Donald Trump warned Sunday that the US would “absolutely” impose sanctions on European companies that continue to do business with Iran, a threat intended to prevent Tehran from circumventing the economic consequences of the US’s May decision to pull out of the Iranian nuclear deal.
The president, in an interview with Fox News' "Sunday Morning Futures with Maria Bartiromo," discussed consequences of his decision to quite the accord.
President Trump on Fox News (צילום: Fox News)
“Iran’s no longer thinking about the Mediterranean and going through … They’re thinking about themselves. They’re having riots all over,” the president said.
Asked by Bartiromo whether the Iranians are enriching uranium “like the reports say”, Trump responded, “If they do they’re going to have a very big problem.”
He also said in the interview that European companies would face sanctions if they traded with Iran. "Of course. That's what we're doing, absolutely," he said.
US President Donald Trump (Photo: AP, Reuters)
The Iranian regime, finding itself increasingly isolated and strapped for cash following Trump’s withdrawal from the pact, has been facing in recent days a wave of protests as the population begins to feel the ramifications of the looming US sanctions.
At least four protesters were reported by the Saudi-based Al-Arabiya network to have been shot dead by security forces in the city of Khorramshahr (Muhammarah) in southwest Iran, after days of protests against the regime for its failure to remedy drinking water shortages. The regime denied that anyone had been killed.
Trump during Fox News' Maria Bartiromo interview (Photo: Fox News)
Last Monday, protesters angered by Iran's cratering economy confronted police in front of parliament, with security forces firing tear gas at them, according to online videos, the first such confrontation after similar demonstrations rocked the country at the start of the year.
Amid the rising turmoil, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani promised his citizens that the government would be able to handle the economic pressure of new US sanctions.
Trump’s withdrawal may cut Iran's hard currency earnings from oil exports, and the prospect is triggering a panicked flight of Iranians' savings from the rial into dollars.
Reuters and Associated Press contributed to this report.
