U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has unveiled a far-reaching list of demands for any new nuclear deal with Iran, and threatened economy-crushing sanctions if Tehran does not change its behavior.
The demands were made a speech Monday at the conservative Heritage Foundation that laid out the Trump administration's strategy after pulling out of the Iran nuclear agreement earlier this month.
Under any new deal, Pompeo insisted, Iran must indefinitely abandon nuclear weapons work, end its proliferation of ballistic missiles, and stop its "destabilizing activities" across the Middle East.
If Iran does not change course, the United States "will apply unprecedented financial pressure," Pompeo warned.
"These will be the strongest sanctions in history by the time we are done," said Pompeo."The [Iranian] regime has been fighting all over the Middle East for years.After our sanctions come into full force, it will be battling to keep its economy alive."
The Trump administration has vowed to re-impose the sanctions that were lifted as part of the 2015 nuclear agreement, which was signed between Iran, the United States, and several European countries.
The European countries are holding talks with Iran to try to salvage the deal. But it is not clear whether the European effort can succeed.
Iran's foreign minister, Javad Zarif, said the European Union's "political support for the nuclear agreement is not sufficient," according to Iranian state media.
But it's also not clear whether the United States can muster sufficient financial pressure on Iran without the support of European companies.
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