https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-44842723

Quote:The US has rejected pleas from the EU to grant exemptions to European firms from the sanctions on Iran that will start to be reinstated next month.

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin wrote in a letter that they wanted to exert "unprecedented" pressure on Tehran.

Waivers will only be given on national security or humanitarian grounds.

President Donald Trump ordered that the sanctions be re-imposed in May after abandoning a nuclear deal with Iran.

The UK, France and Germany - which were also parties to the 2015 accord, along with Russia and China - pledged to continue abiding by their commitments.

They said they would work on measures to counter the effects of the sanctions, but major European companies like Peugeot and Total have since cut back their involvement in Iran in order not to risk their business prospects in the US.

Quote:Some of Europe's biggest firms rushed to do business with Iran after the nuclear deal was implemented two-and-a-half years ago.

In 2017, EU exports to Iran (goods and services) totalled €10.8bn (£9.5bn; $12.9bn), and imports from Iran were worth €10.1bn.

Last month, ministers from the UK, France and Germany wrote a letter to Mr Pompeo and Mr Mnuchin saying that persevering with the existing nuclear deal was the "best basis on which to engage Iran" and address President Trump's concerns.

Quote:Mr Pompeo and Mr Mnuchin formally rejected the request for exemptions in a letter to European ministers that was leaked to the media on Sunday night.

They wrote that the US intended to maintain sanctions on Iran until it saw a "tangible, demonstrable and sustained shift in the policies we have enumerated", officials told NBC News.

"We will seek to provide unprecedented financial pressure on the Iranian regime," they added, noting that they were "not in a position to make exceptions to this policy except in very specific circumstances".

US officials have also put pressure on other countries to stop importing Iranian crude oil from November, and urged Saudi Arabia to increase its exports to cover the loss and prevent major market disruption.

Just another example of why the Deep State in DC and EUROPE went ape shyt when Trump was elected. They knew what was coming. No more EU companies rushing in and making billions while America is expected to do the heavy lifting if things go bad.

Thank God Trump is standing up to the foxes guarding the hen houses.

Iranian mullahs are scared. 2 of the terror attacks planned for Europe were discovered and stopped. The one in France would have been a big one.