The Atlantic

Pompeo Declares Economic War on Iran

The U.S. secretary of state vowed “unprecedented financial pressure in the form of the strongest sanctions in history.”
Source: Jonathan Ernst / Reuters

The Trump administration’s new strategy on Iran essentially amounts to economic war. In a speech on Monday, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo vowed “unprecedented financial pressure in the form of the strongest sanctions in history” unless the Islamic Republic renounced all its nuclear activities, its ballistic-missile program, and its support of regional proxies.

“The [Iranian] regime has been fighting all over the Middle East for years,” Pompeo said at the Heritage Foundation, a Washington, D.C., think tank. “After our sanctions come in force, it will be battling to keep its economy alive. Iran will be forced to make a choice: Either fight to keep its economy off life support at home or squander precious wealth on fights abroad. It will not have the

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