Trump warns world against business with Iran as sanctions return

US President Donald Trump warned the world against doing business with Iran as Washington reimposed "the most biting sanctions ever" on the Islamic republic, triggering a mix of anger, fear and defiance in Tehran.

Trump's May withdrawal from a landmark 2015 nuclear deal with Tehran had spooked investors and triggered a run on the Iranian rial long before the punishing sanctions went back into force.

The newly reimposed sanctions, which target access to US banknotes and key industries such as cars and carpets, were unlikely to cause immediate economic turmoil.

Iran's markets were actually relatively buoyant, with the rial strengthening by 20 percent since Sunday after the government relaxed foreign exchange rules and allowed unlimited, tax-free gold and currency imports.

But the second tranche of sanctions, which kicks in on November 5 and targets Iran's vital oil sector, could be far more damaging -- even if several key customers such as China, India and Turkey have refused to significantly cut their purchases.

"The Iran sanctions have officially been cast. These are the most biting sanctions ever imposed, and in November they ratchet up to yet another level," Trump wrote on Twitter.

"Anyone doing business with Iran will NOT be doing business with the United States. I am asking for WORLD PEACE, nothing less."
"There's a lot going on here that Iran needs to be held accountable for."
But Iranian President Hassan Rouhani has dismissed the idea of talks while sanctions are in effect, and accused America of waging "psychological warfare."
"I feel like my life is being destroyed," said one construction worker on the streets of the capital. "I can't afford to buy food, pay the rent."
British Foreign Office Minister Alastair Burt said that the "Americans have really not got this right."
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu hailed the renewed sanctions as "an important moment for Israel, for the US, for the region, for the whole world."