Donald Trump moves to head off any military sales to Iran

The US has threatened secondary sanctions against individuals, firms and governments engaging in military trade with Tehran.

‘Think twice, the penalties are right around the corner’: Elliott Abrams

The Trump administration has outlined an array of new measures intended to preclude China and Russia from selling weapons to Iran and to block the shipment of goods that might be used for its missile programs.

The new steps consist of sanctions authorised in an executive order signed by Donald Trump, who said on Monday (Tuesday AEST) that his administration would “use every tool at our disposal to stop Iran’s nuclear, ballistic missile and conventional weapons pursuits”.

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo also announced new sanctions against Iranian entities and individuals, as well as Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, in connection with arms transfers to and from Iran.

The measures followed an unsuccessful effort by the US last month to persuade the UN Security Council to extend the arms embargo on Tehran and a later decision by the Trump administration to try to reimpose almost all the international sanctions that were in effect prior to the 2015 Iran nuclear accord.

Having failed to persuade the international community, including its closest European allies, to reinstate the sanctions under so-called snapback provisions, the US is now seeking to pressure foreign companies and foreign governments to go along despite their insistence that Washington doesn’t have a legal basis to restore the sanctions after it withdrew from the 2015 accord.

US officials said a major focus is using the threat of secondary sanctions — penalties against those who do business with an individual, company or government that is violating US sanctions — to stop the sale of “dual use” equipment to Iran that has civilian applications but that might be used for military purposes, such as circuit boards or speedboats. They also said the imposition of US sanctions might not need to await the delivery of items it considers to be prohibited but might be applied as soon as a deal was reached.

‘Now they are taking retribution’: Mohammad Javad Zarif. Picture: AFP

“Think twice, the penalties are right around the corner,” said Elliott Abrams, the US special representative for Iran and Venezuela.

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said the new sanctions would not have a major effect on Iran, which already has been subjected to Washington’s maximum pressure campaign.

“The United States has exerted all the pressure it could,” Mr Zarif said in an online appearance hosted by the Council on Foreign Relations. “Now they are taking retribution, not against us, but against the entire world.”

Despite Mr Zarif’s comments, Iranian currency reached a new low against the US dollar on Sunday on the unofficial market, Reuters reported, the day after the Trump administration had declared the sanctions were being reinstated.

Mr Trump has often said that his goal is to use economic pressure to persuade Iran to negotiate an agreement that would impose more stringent limits than that set by the 2015 accord.

Joe Biden, the Democratic candidate for president, has said he would rejoin the 2015 deal if Iran agreed to observe its limits. Mr Biden said he would also try to renegotiate the accord so that the duration of its provisions was extended and its terms were strengthened.

Mr Zarif said the terms of the 2015 deal, which he said Iran still considered to be in effect, were not negotiable. He added that Washington should pay economic compensation for the damage done to Iran by Mr Trump’s sanctions policy if the US wanted to discuss future arrangements.

“I want to see first the United States going back to its commitments, compensating Iran for its losses, giving us guarantees that it won’t do it again,” he said.

European diplomats have said they see Iran’s compensation demand as a bargaining tactic and say it hasn’t been echoed in private conversations they have had with Mr Zarif and Iranian officials.

US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said his department has issued new sanctions against more than two dozen officials affiliated with the Atomic Energy Organisation of Iran and with Iran’s defence establishment.

“The country that’s isolated today, it’s not the United States, but rather Iran,” Mr Pompeo said. “We have made it very clear that every member state in the United Nations has a responsibility to enforce these sanctions. That certainly includes the United Kingdom, France and Germany.”

Administration officials said Iran might have enough fissile material for a single weapon by the end of the year if Tehran chose to enrich its stockpile of low-enriched uranium to military grade.

Mr Zarif said it had about 3000kg of low-enriched uranium, which he said would be sufficient material for three bombs if Iran took additional steps to enrich it. “But we don’t intend to build a bomb,” said Mr Zarif, who added Iran would substantially reduce its stockpile of low-enriched uranium if the US rejoined the 2015 nuclear deal.

In March, experts said that Iran had tripled its stockpile of low-enriched uranium and might need as little as four months to produce sufficient fissile material for a nuclear weapon if it decided to make a bomb.

The Wall Street Journal