U.S. President Donald Trump warned countries against doing business with Iran on Tuesday as he hailed the “most biting sanctions ever imposed”, triggering a mix of anger, fear and defiance in Tehran.
“The Iran sanctions have officially been cast. These are the most biting sanctions ever imposed, and in November they ratchet up to yet another level,” Mr. Trump wrote in an early morning tweet.
“Anyone doing business with Iran will NOT be doing business with the United States. I am asking for WORLD PEACE, nothing less.”
Within hours of the sanctions taking effect, German automaker Daimler said it was halting its business activities in Iran.
A run on the rial
Mr. Trump’s withdrawal from a landmark 2015 nuclear agreement in May had already spooked investors and triggered a run on the Iranian rial long before nuclear-related sanctions went back into force.
“I feel like my life is being destroyed. can’t afford to buy food, pay the rent...” said a construction worker on the streets of the capital.
The sanctions reimposed on Tuesday — targeting access to U.S. banknotes and key industries such as cars and carpets — were unlikely to cause immediate economic turmoil.
Iran’s markets were actually relatively buoyant, with the rial strengthening by 20% since Sunday after the government relaxed foreign exchange rules and allowed unlimited, tax-free gold and currency imports.
But the second tranche on November 5 covering Iran’s vital oil sector could be far more damaging — even if several key customers such as China, India and Turkey have refused to significantly cut their purchases.
In a statement on Monday before the sanctions were reimposed, Mr. Trump said: “The Iranian regime faces a choice. Either change its threatening, destabilising behaviour and reintegrate with the global economy, or continue down a path of economic isolation.”
‘Open to a new deal’
“I remain open to reaching a more comprehensive deal that addresses the full range of the regime’s malign activities, including its ballistic missile programme and its support for terrorism.”
But his Iranian counterpart Hassan Rouhani dismissed the idea of talks while crippling sanctions were in effect. “If you’re an enemy and you stab the other person with a knife, and then you say you want negotiations, then the first thing you have to do is remove the knife,” he told state television.
“They want to launch psychological warfare against the Iranian nation,” Mr. Rouhani said. “Negotiations with sanctions doesn’t make sense.”
