The Trump administration plans to target a new sector of the Iranian economy with a package of sanctions to be introduced on Wednesday, two senior administration officials told Axios news portal. The officials would not say what sector the administration will target, but it won't be the energy sector.
In an interview with Mehr News Agency, the former envoy highlighted that “one cannot talk with certainty about this issue, but controlling the flow of dollar into Iran can be one of the issues subject to the new US sanctions.”
It is likely that Washington bans all companies, banks, and governments from transferring dollar to Iran, said Faraji-rad.
“The US government may possibly be preparing to put sanctions on Iran's petrochemical products because they know well that these products are one of the most important exports of Iran and bring significant foreign exchange to the country,” he added.
Trump administration believes that sanctions would either force Iran to return to the negotiating table for a more favorable nuclear deal to the US, or it would lead the Iranian government to collapse due to "fading revenues", according to reports.
In May 2018, Washington unilaterally withdrew from the Iran nuclear deal and began slapping the Islamic Republic with several rounds of sanctions, targeting the country's energy and banking sectors. The Trump administration has vowed to bring Iran's oil exports down to zero with its continued restrictions.
Meanwhile, Iran has stressed that the US will fail in achieving its hostile objectives through the imposition of sanctions.
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