U.S. national security adviser John Bolton on Sunday carefully doubled down on President Donald Trumps threat that European countries could be sanctioned by the United States if they continue to be involved with Iran.<\/p>\n
\u201cIts possible,\u201c Bolton said during an interview on CNNs \u201cState of the Union.\u201d<\/p>\n
Boltons statement came as he and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo tried to amplify the reasons behind the Trump administrations deal to withdraw from the Iran nuclear agreement and explain how it will work, given that the international community, other than Israel and some Arab nations, has not jumped on board with the president. Both Bolton and Pompeo suggested they believed the great powers of Europe might eventually see the light.<\/p>\n
Trump on Tuesday said he was going to reimpose sanctions on Iran \u2014 dealing a blow to what he called the \u201cdecaying and rotten\u201d Iran nuclear deal. Those sanctions could involve secondary sanctions, which would penalize countries whose companies continue to trade with Iran. \u201cAny nation that helps Iran in its quest for nuclear weapons could also be strongly sanctioned by the United States,\u201d the president said.<\/p>\n
After Trumps announcement, the leaders of France, Germany and Britain said in a joint statement that they remain committed to preserving the Iran deal and urged the U.S. \u201cto ensure that the structures of the [deal] can remain intact, and to avoid taking action which obstructs its full implementation by all other parties to the deal.\u201d China and Russia also have affirmed support for the deal, which was designed to keep Iran from building nuclear weapons.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think the Europeans will see that its in their interest ultimately to come along with this,\u201d Bolton said to Jake Tapper.<\/p>\n
Despite the lack of support from other world powers, Bolton said he thought the U.S. sanctions would make a dent in and of themselves. \u201cWeve seen is that Irans economic condition is really quite shaky, so that they effect here could be dramatic,\u201d he told Tapper.<\/p>\n
Bolton went on to say that despite Trumps consistency in terms of saying he was going to get out of deal: \u201cMany people \u2026 thought we would never get out of it.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI dont know how to explain why people could miss what the president was saying,\u201d Bolton said. \u201cSo I think at the moment there is some feeling in Europe that theyre really surprised that we got out of it and really surprised at the imposition of strict sanctions. I think that will sink in, and well see what happens then.\u201c<\/p>\n
Also Sunday morning, Pompeo said that withdrawal from the deal wasnt aimed at Europeans \u2014 that the Trump administration will continue to work with its allies to fix the deal.<\/p>\n
\u201cI am hopeful in the days and weeks ahead we can come up with a deal that really works, that really protects the world from Iranian bad behavior, not just their nuclear program, but there missiles and their malign behavior as well,\u201d Pompeo said on \u201cFox News Sunday.\u201d \u201cAnd I will work closely with the Europeans to try and achieve that.\u201c<\/p>\n
When pressed whether the U.S. is prepared to go against companies from its allies, Pompeo said the sanctions in place are \u201cvery clear about what the requirements are.\u201c<\/p>\n
\u201cMy mission that Ive been given by President Trump is to work to strike a deal that achieves the outcomes that protect America,\u201d he said. \u201cThats what we are going to do, and I will be hard at it with the Europeans in the next several days.\u201c<\/p>\n
Others were dubious that withdrawing from the nuclear deal would prove effective, particularly since it shattered an international alliance that worked to negotiate the deal with Iran.<\/p>\n
\u201cI dont believe we will ever be able to put Humpty-Dumpty back together again,\u201c James Clapper, former director of national intelligence, said on \u201cFareed Zakarias GPS.\u201d<\/p>\n
On \u201cFox News Sunday,\u201d Pompeo also talked about the U.S. becoming more involved in North Korea in North Korean Leader Kim Jong Un chooses the \u201cright path.\u201d<\/p>\n
He said that more Americans from the private sector to help build the energy grid and to work with them to develop infrastructure.<\/p>\n
\u201cAll the things that the North Korean people need, the capacity for American agriculture to support North Korea so they can eat meat and have healthy lives, Pompeo said. \u201cThose are the kinds of things that if we get what it is the president has demanded, the complete, verifiable, irreversible denuclearization of North Korea that the American people will offer in spades.\u201c<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
U.S. national security adviser John Bolton on Sunday carefully doubled down on President Donald Trum..<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":77679,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[202],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-77678","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-finance"],"yoast_head":"\n