Many countries on Tuesday expressed their support for the Iran nuclear deal after Washington reimposed economic sanctions that had been lifted under the terms of the 2015 agreement.
In May, U.S. President Donald Trump announced his withdrawal from the 2015 agreement, reached between Iran and six world powers in an effort to curb Iran's controversial nuclear program. Under the terms of the agreement, Iran agreed to abandon much of its nuclear project in exchange for the lifting of crippling economic sanctions. On Tuesday, Trump reimposed the first wave of sanctions on Iran, with the second wave of sanctions expected in November.
On Monday, Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said that Trump and his allies – Israel and Saudi Arabia - have become isolated by their hostile policies.
The United Nations said it would support countries who still favor the deal, while the European Union, Britain, France and Germany issued a joint statement saying they will maintain economic ties with Tehran despite the threat of American retribution.
U.N. spokesperson Farhan Haq said Monday that Secretary General Antonio Guterres views the nuclear deal as a diplomatic achievement and stressed the importance of complying with its terms.
Iran's traditional trading partners Turkey and India also vowed to ignore the unilateral sanctions.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Monday that Trump's decision was "an important moment for Israel, the United States, the region and the entire world."
Meanwhile, as Iranians awoke Tuesday to the reality of renewed U.S. sanctions, the question on everyone's mind remained: What happens now?
From deciphering Trump's tweets on Iran – including one demanding "WORLD PEACE" – to trying to figure out how much their cratering currency is worth, Iranians appear divided on how to respond.
The same goes for their theocratic regime, which, for now, is abiding by the nuclear accord. Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, whose administration struck the 2015 deal, has taken an increasingly confrontational line in recent weeks, applauded by hard-liners who had long opposed him.
In a speech on live television Monday, Rouhani seemed to suggest that direct talks with Trump would be possible.
That's something North Korean Foreign Minister Ri Yong-hu, who visited Tehran on Tuesday and met with its leadership, knows firsthand.
Whether Iran will choose a North Korea-style photo-op with an American president who backed out of a deal with them, or abandon the unraveling accord and increase its uranium enrichment, remains a fiercely debated question in Iran. But everyone agrees something has to be done soon, as sporadic protests across the country of 80 million people only add to the pressure.
"The situation is not good right now; nothing is clear," said Ebrahim Gholamnejad, a 41-year-old carpenter. "The economy is turning into a jungle."
The newly imposed American sanctions target U.S. dollar financial transactions, Iran's automotive sector, and the purchase of commercial planes and metals, including gold. Even stronger sanctions targeting Iran's oil sector and central bank are to be reimposed in early November.
The hard-line Keyhan newspaper, which previously lampooned Rouhani, bore his picture on the front page with a large headline quoting him saying: "The way we can surpass all sanctions is to have unity."
In recent weeks, Iran has prominently displayed its centrifuges and threatened to resume enriching uranium at higher rates. At one point Rouhani renewed a long-standing Iranian threat to close off the Strait of Hormuz, through which a third of all oil traded by sea passes.
Trump, for his part, has ricocheted between threats and promises to speak with Iranian officials without preconditions, offering mixed messages to both the Iranian public and its government. That continued Tuesday, as he described American actions in a tweet as "the most biting sanctions ever imposed, and in November they ratchet up to yet another level."
"Anyone doing business with Iran will NOT be doing business with the United States," he wrote. "I am asking for WORLD PEACE, nothing less!"
U.S. National Security Adviser John Bolton said the objective of the sanctions is not to bring about Iranian "regime change."
"But we definitely want to put maximum pressure on the government, and it's not just to come back to discuss fixing a deal that's basically not fixable," Bolton said Tuesday on Fox News. "We want to see a much broader retreat by Iran from their support for international terrorism, their belligerent activity in the Middle East and their ballistic missile, nuclear-related program."
Though Iranians already are angered by Trump putting their nation on his travel ban list, some say talks with the U.S. president might be necessary. Others insist that Iran, which has weathered decades of previous sanctions, should stand its ground.
"I believe America cannot do a damn thing," said Farzaneh, a 54-year-old housewife who declined to give her last name out of privacy concerns. "It can't do anything, because Iranians are backing each other."
Direct talks with the U.S. also would challenge Iran's leadership, which, for nearly 40 years, has encouraged flag-burning demonstrations against "the Great Satan."
For now though, Iranians say they can only wait for the next Trump tweet or their government's decision on how to respond.
"People should just keep calm, because the other party wants to disrupt our peace," said Gholamnejad, the carpenter. "America, who imposed the sanctions, wants to create chaos."
