Trump signs memorandum to reinstate his ‘maximum pressure’ campaign on Iran

US President Donald Trump signed a memorandum on Tuesday to reinstate his “maximum pressure” campaign on the Iranian regime to prevent it from obtaining nuclear weapons and reduce Iran's oil exports to zero.

Speaking in the Oval Office of the White House, Trump said that Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon and that his country has the right to block the sale of Iranian oil to other nations, Reuters reported.

Before the signing of the document, an official told Reuters that, through the memorandum, Trump will order the US Treasury Secretary to impose a series of maximum economic pressure measures on the Iranians, based on sanctions and enforcement mechanisms for those who violate existing sanctions.

It should be noted that the US president had reduced Iran's oil exports to almost zero during his first term, although they increased during the Biden Administration, as Tehran managed to evade sanctions.

The official said the US representative to the United Nations will work with allied countries to complete the restoration of international sanctions and restrictions on Iran.

Iran's gains

Tehran's oil exports generated $53 billion in 2023 and $54 billion in 2022, according to US Energy Information Administration estimates.

As for 2024, production reached its highest level in six years, the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) said.

Iran has repeatedly denied wanting to develop a nuclear weapon.

The International Atomic Energy Agency warning

Rafael Grossi, head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), stated at the World Economic Forum in Davos last January that Iran has been accelerating its uranium enrichment almost to the level needed to develop nuclear weapons.