The White House is putting the Europeans on notice, saying that if they try to do an end-run around US sanctions on Iran, they will be subject to stiff fines and penalties. “The choice is whether to do business with Iran or the United States,” Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., told the AP. President Donald Trump called it a “horrible, one-sided deal.” He pulled out of the pact last year and restored punishing US sanctions on Iran. The US has many concerns about the alternative payment system, according to an outside Trump administration adviser. Secondly, the US is concerned that other countries might try to route transactions through the European system just to circumvent US sanctions, the adviser said.

Source: Egypt Independent January 28, 2019 09:11 UTC