President Trump said in a tweet Wednesday that he will step up his “maximum pressure” campaign on Iran by adding even more sanctions against the Islamic Republic following an attack on Saudi oil facilities, a raid that some are blaming on Iran.
”I have just instructed the Secretary of the Treasury to substantially increase Sanctions on the country of Iran!” the president announced in a posting on his Twitter account, without elaborating on what the new penalties would entail.
The president imposed a wide array on sanctions on Iran after he withdrew the US last year from the 2015 Obama-era nuclear deal that Tehran inked with world powers.
His “maximum pressure” campaign was intended to force Iran back to the negotiating table to renegotiate the agreement that Trump called the “worst deal ever.”
Iran has pressured those remaining in the accord — Britain, France, Germany, the European Union, Russia and China — to abide by the terms of the deal and help ease the sanctions imposed by the US.
Saudi Arabia said it will produce evidence that links Iran to the Saturday attacks on its oil installations that halved its oil production capabilities.
Tehran has denied any involvement, and Iranian-backed Houthi rebels who are battling a Saudi-led coalition in Yemen have claimed responsibility.