IRAN/REX TILLERSON/STATE/TRADE DEALS: “Secretary of State Rex W. Tillerson warned Europeans on Sunday [10-22-17] not to invest in certain Iranian businesses as the Trump administration considers walking away from the Iran nuclear deal and reimposing sanctions against Iran.
Speaking during a visit to Saudi Arabia, Mr. Tillerson said, ‘Both of our countries believe that those who conduct business with the Iranian Revolutionary Guard, any of their entities — European companies or other companies around the globe — really do so at great risk.’ Mr. Tillerson appeared at a brief news conference in Riyadh, the Saudi capital, with the Saudi foreign minister, Adel al-Jubeir.
The Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps maintains monopoly control over large sectors of Iran’s economy.
Mr. Tillerson’s remarks were the administration’s most pointed warning to date as the Trump administration tries to persuade its European allies to support an effort to reopen the nuclear accord to make it tougher.
European leaders and diplomats from Germany, Britain, France and the European Union have repeatedly insisted that the nuclear deal is working, that Iran is complying with the accord and that no renegotiation is possible. Russia and China, which also signed the agreement, have evinced no interest in a renegotiation. And Iran’s foreign minister, Mohammad Javad Zarif, has warned that Iran would insist on new concessions, such as a return of its nuclear fuel, in any new agreement.”
-Gardiner Harris, “Tillerson Warns Europe Against Iran Investments,” The New York Times online, Oct. 22, 2017