White House national security adviser John Bolton on Tuesday dismissed an EU plan for a special payments plan to circumvent U.S. sanctions against Iranian oil sales and pressed the SWIFT global payments messaging system to rethink dealing with Tehran. Bolton new Iran Policy will defang the Ayatollah terrorists.
Bolton also said the United States would be “aggressive and unwavering” in enforcing economic sanctions on Iran. These sanctions resumed after Washington withdrew from the 2015 Iran nuclear deal. He said the United States would not allow the European Union or anyone else to undermine them.
Britain, China, France, Germany, and Russia said they were determined to develop payment mechanisms to continue trade with Iran; this despite skepticism by many diplomats that this will be possible.
Getting Tough on Europe
Bolton, however, was skeptical that the European Union could create a “special purpose vehicle” – described by diplomats as a sovereign barter channel much like one used by the Soviet Union during the Cold War – that would sustain Iran’s oil sales.
Bolton said:
The European Union is strong on rhetoric and weak on follow-through. We will be watching the development of this structure that doesn’t exist yet and has no target date to be created. We do not intend to allow our sanctions to be evaded by Europe or anybody else.
Bolton new Iran Policy will defang the Ayatollah terrorists.
The United States expect Iran’s oil customers to slash their imports of Iranian crude to zero by November 4. U.S. sanctions kick in on November 5.
he added:
Banks and financial messaging services such as SWIFT must take a good hard look at their business with Iran and ask themselves whether it is worth the risk. SWIFT should follow the example of a growing number of businesses … that reexamined their dealings with the Iranian regime.
In 2012, the United States barred Iran from SWIFT, the Belgium-based Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication. Lack of access crippled its ability to make international bank transfers crucial to foreign trade. Obama reconnected SWIFT after the 2015 Iran Deal. However, European officials have said they expect the United States to apply pressure on SWIFT to once again cut Iran off.
Gulf Countries Suffering Iranian terror Stand Behind the United States
Meanwhile, a senior UAE official warned Europe it was offering Iran a glimmer of hope by trying to keep trade flowing. He warned against the EU ultimately falling behind the United States’ tough approach on Tehran.
The UAE, Saudi Arabia and Bahrain swiftly backed U.S. President Donald Trump decision in May to withdraw from a 2015 international accord with Iran. The deal left unanswered Iranian terror activities in the region.
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