U.S. special representative to Iran, Brian Hook, told CNBC on Saturday that the U.S. is going to increase sanctions on Iran.
“We are going to increase our sanctions on Iran and continue our foreign policy,” Hook told CNBC’s Hadley Gamble in Abu Dhabi on Saturday.
Hook said that a lot of pressure is needed in order to address Iran’s “regional aggression” and the a new foreign policy devised by the U.S. aims to bring Iran back to the negotiating table.
“When the President (Trump) got out of the Iran deal, we put a new foreign policy that does a couple of things. It is going to deny the regime the revenue that it needs to run a violent and expansionist foreign policy. But it is also designed to bring them back to the negotiating table,” Hook said.
Brian Hook, Special Representative for Iran and Senior Policy Advisor to the Secretary of State, at the United Against Nuclear Iran (UANI) 2018 Iran Summit in New York City. (Photo by Michael Brochstein/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)
Michael Brochstein/SOPA Images | LightRocket | Getty Images
“So ultimately we would like to have a new deal that addresses Iran’s regional aggression, the missile program and its nuclear program. In order to do that, it is going to take pressure. And in order to get Iran to change its behavior, it is going to take a lot of pressure. So we are going to increase our sanctions on Iran, we are going to continue with this foreign policy,” he added.
When asked what these sanctions would entail, Hook said the U.S. doesn’t “preview sanctions.”
Hook’s comments come after a series of rapid escalations between Washington and Tehran.
President Donald Trump reportedly approved military strikes against the Islamic Republic late Thursday in retaliation for the downing of an unmanned American drone, before abruptly reversing his decision.
The U.S. president has since said in an interview with NBC News that he does not want war with Iran but, if it comes, there will be “obliteration like you’ve never seen before. “
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