Trump Signs Iran Sanctions Memo
President Donald Trump on Feb. 4 signed a memorandum that would restore the “maximum pressure” campaign against Iran he instituted during his first administration, including possibly through new sanctions.
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The memo, which wasn’t yet released as of press time, would order various U.S. agencies to “sanction and control Iran activities,” a Trump aide said as Trump signed the memo in the Oval Office. “The intent here is to give you all of the possible tools to, I'd say, engage with the Iran government to ensure that going forward, they're less of a malign actor on the world stage.”
Trump said he was “torn about” signing the memo because it would authorize “very powerful” sanctions against Iran. “I'm going to sign it, but hopefully we're not going to have to use it very much,” he said.
Trump during his first administration imposed a range of sanctions and other restrictions against Iran as part of a plan to stop the country from developing nuclear weapons (see 2001100050).