US sanctions aim to dent Iran’s metals industries

   President Donald Trump on Wednesday ordered new sanctions to be placed on Iran’s iron, steel, aluminum and copper industries in an effort to prevent the Persian Gulf country from developing weapons and curtail its political influence in the region.
   The executive order stated that it is policy of the U.S. to “deny the Iranian government revenue, including revenue derived from the export of products from Iran’s iron, steel, aluminum and copper sectors, that may be used to provide funding and support for the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, terrorist groups and networks, campaigns of regional aggression and military expansion.”
   The executive order supplements the U.S. authorities established by the 2012 Iran Freedom and Counter Proliferation Act. 
   Under the executive order and related sanction regulations, U.S. persons and entities are effectively blocked from conducting business with Iran’s iron, steel, aluminum and copper industries. U.S. persons or entities, including their overseas subsidiaries and affiliates, that are caught financing, purchasing, marketing and transporting these Iranian commodities risk significant U.S. government fines and penalties. 
   On May 8, 2018, President Trump withdrew U.S. participation in the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, or the so-called Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), which he viewed as weak. The deal was established by the U.N. Security Council and endorsed by the Obama administration as a means to shift Iran away from its nuclear weapons development program.
   Since then the U.S. has placed an array of sanctions on Iran’s industrial sectors, including airlines, ocean carriers and oil and gas, to reduce their ability to pursue revenue-generating exports.
   Meanwhile, the Iranian government recently announced that it plans to restart its nuclear materials enrichment program.