Former US Official Says Latest Iran Sanctions End Diplomatic Road

U.S. President Donald Trump’s fresh sanctions on Iran are a “symbolic act” and may leave Washington with no room to exert further pressure on the nuclear power, a former U.S. diplomat said Tuesday.

Trump on Monday signed an executive order to impose “hard-hitting” sanctions on Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, whom he said was responsible for the “hostile conduct” of the regime.

While the new sanctions aim to deny top Iranian officials access to important financial resources, “the Ayatollah and most of the people closest to him don’t really have bank accounts in their names … in Europe or outside of Iran” that would be hit by the sanctions, said Amos Hochstein, who served as U.S. special envoy for international energy affairs under the Obama administration.

Washington’s new sanctions come on the back of tense U.S.-Iran rhetoric after Tehran downed an American military drone last Thursday. The Trump administration has accused Iran of being responsible for a recent attack on six oil tankers in or near the Strait of Hormuz.

However, Washington may be treading into dangerous waters in its Iran policy, Hochstein told CNBC’s “Street Signs Asia. ”

via CNBC

Content is for general information purposes only. It is not investment advice or a solution to buy or sell securities. Opinions are the authors; not necessarily that of OANDA Business Information & Services, Inc. or any of its affiliates, subsidiaries, officers or directors. If you would like to reproduce or redistribute any of the content found on MarketPulse, an award winning forex, commodities and global indices analysis and news site service produced by OANDA Business Information & Services, Inc., please access the RSS feed or contact us at info@marketpulse.com. Visit https://www.marketpulse.com/ to find out more about the beat of the global markets. © 2023 OANDA Business Information & Services Inc.