Donald Trump signed an executive order Monday to impose another round of sanctions on Iran, where the previously imposed sanctions have already crippled the economy according to many experts. Speaking from the Oval Office, Trump said the new sanctions "follows a series of aggressive behaviors" by Iran in recent weeks. Trump said he would "love" to negotiate a deal with Iranian leaders to put stricter limits on the country's nuclear program. "Who knows what's going to happen," Trump told reporters, adding, "We cannot ever allow Iran to have a nuclear weapon."
Early in his presidency, Trump pulled the U.S. out of a multilateral agreement, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), that the Obama administration negotiated to stunt Iran's efforts to achieve nuclear capability. Ever since, the Trump administration has unsuccessfully tried to coax Iran back to the same negotiating table that Trump walked away from at the outset.
Democratic Sen. Jack Reed of Rhode Island told MSNBC Monday that the new sanctions were "more symbolic than substantive" since previous sanctions already cinched Iran's revenues from its oil exports. Reed said the new efforts by the Trump administration were simply creating a "more provocative" environment rather than serving to lure Iran back into negotiations on its nuclear program. It's a "pressure campaign that is creating not negotiation but is creating a more hostile situation," Reed said.