European leaders had tried, but failed, in recent weeks to convince Trump to stick with the Iran deal, with the leaders of both Germany and France visiting Washington last week. "U.S. Iran sanctions are hardly hitting any U.S. companies, but aim primarily at European ones," Carl Bildt, the former leader of Sweden who is now co-chair of the European Council on Foreign Relations, said in a tweet. The U.S. says the sanctions will also sharply curtail sales of oil by Iran, which is currently the world's fifth-largest oil producer. While abandoning deals in Iran could hurt financially, they would not likely have a lasting impact on the companies. EU imports from Iran grew almost tenfold since the sanctions were lifted — from 1.25 billion euros ($1.48 billion) in 2015 to 10.14 billion euros last year.

Source: ABC News May 09, 2018 10:03 UTC