This would give clear guidelines about what channels European banks and companies should follow to conduct legitimate transactions with Iran without fear of future penalties. But the fact is the banks are so terrified of sanctions that they don’t want to do anything with Iran. Briefing journalists about the coming sanctions, the US treasury secretary, Steven Mnuchin, said he did not think the European effort to bypass US sanctions would work. “First [US officials] say it is too early, and the Iranians have to suffer,” the European diplomat said of administration policy. “This is not consistent with the Trump administration’s declared policy that sanctions are not against the Iranian people.”

Source: The Guardian November 02, 2018 20:56 UTC