Pompeo Assesses Maximum Pressure Campaign

January 12, 2021

In his final full week in office, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo outlined all that the Trump administration has done in its maximum pressure campaign against Iran. In a series of tweets, he highlighted the following accomplishments:

  • The Trump administration sanctioned more than 1,500 individuals and entities
  • U.S. sanctions took more than 2 million barrels of Iranian oil off the market per day 
  • Nearly 30 countries who were regular buyers of Iranian oil stopped importing
  • Sanctions deprived Iran of $70 billion in oil revenue
  • The United States seized Iranian fuel shipments bound for Venezuela and deposited more than $40 million from the sale into the Victims of State Sponsored Terrorism Fund
  • More than 100 major corporations withdrew or canceled planned investments in Iran 
  • More than 10 countries have banned Iran's Mahan Air from landing on their territory
  • The Trump administration negotiated the release of two Americans held in Iran
  • The United States helped create a 14-member international maritime coalition to protect Persian Gulf shipping

In November 2020, Pompeo argued that U.S. sanctions had crippled the Islamic Republic. “Iran’s economy faces a currency crisis, mounting public debt, and rising inflation,” he said. “The Iranian rial has depreciated to one fifth of its former value against the dollar since the start of the campaign, while Iran’s GDP has shrunk by around six percent for three consecutive years.” The following is series of tweets by Pompeo from January 2021 on the campaign.