Pompeo: US sanctions will target Iran’s regime, not people

Al-Arabia – United States Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has said that upcoming economic sanctions against Tehran is focused on targeting the Iranian regime, not its people.

“On November 5, we will place tough sanctions on #Iran’s ruling regime. Our aim is to compel Iran to abandon its destructive activities. The sanctions will target the regime—not the people, who have suffered the pain of their government’s mismanagement, theft, and brutality,” he tweeted.

Washington will on Monday reintroduce far-reaching sanctions on Iran’s vital oil sales and banking sectors to try to force the Islamic Republic into negotiations to scrap its nuclear energy and ballistic missile programs and end its support for proxies in conflicts across the Middle East.

Pompeo’s statement on Saturday echoed that of UAE’s minister of state for foreign affairs, Anwar Gargash, who said on Saturday that Iran’s “aggressive policies” were “largely responsible” for the reimposition of US sanctions on Tehran.