The US has re-imposed sanctions on Iran – what will happen to companies still doing business with the Islamic republic? What will be the American response to the poisoning of Alexei Navalny and will this attack on him stop Nord Stream 2?

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo (56),spoke about these issues with BILD Editor-in-chief Julian Reichelt.

Pompeo on...

...re-imposed sanctions and consequences for German companies who are doing business with Iran:

"There are probably a lot of companies in the US that would like to do business with the Islamic Republic of Iran as well. They are a great people, but unfortunately the regime there, the theocratic, kleptocratic regime led by the Ayatollah presents an enormous risk to the world. The United States is going to use every bit of its capacity to ensure that those UN sanctions are enforced. They will be enforced equally, fairly against business from across the world. We want to make sure that there is no more money created for this regime that for 40 years on now has created terror and has put Europe at risk. We want to make sure that no one is surprised, that they know what's lawful and what's unlawful. Nearly all of those UNSC resolutions are back in place since midnight this Saturday."

... the execution of Iranian wrestler Navid Afkari and Germany's moral responsibility:

"German business will understand the risk and they will comply with the UNSC resolutions. It is the German government that is so disappointing. This country (Iran) has created assassination campaigns across Europe. The German government tells us they agree with that they don't want Iran to buy and sell weapons, yet they have come up with no plan, no alternative to prevent it. The US is going to lead, the US will make the right decision, the moral decision. Not only did they execute this wrestler, remember this is the most antisemitic nation on the planet, that does not only threaten to destroy America, but also the nation of Israel. I think the German people understand the risk, the threat to themselves and to the world. This is not a country that should escape the sanctions that UNSC resolution 2231 lays out, that is not a nation that on October 19 this year be able to buy and sell weapons."

...Iranian threats against Israel and Berlin's reactions:

"I think it's unmistakable, you don't have to guess, they tell us repeatedly what their intentions are. And we see their actions are consistent with that. I think the whole world knows the nature and the threat of the Islamic Republic of Iran."

... differences with the Europeans on the nuclear deal:

"There's been disagreement for years now about the value of this nuclear deal. The United States views it not only as unfortunate but dangerous. The Europeans have suggested that somehow staying inside of this is important, the United States have taken a different approach. We are not going to allow them to have the money and wealth to allow them to continue to ferment terror. We are not going to send pallets of cash over to the Iranian regime. We are going to develop a system that makes sure Iran never has a nuclear weapon. The United States has the capacity to lead the world to push back against this terror threat."

...the poisoning of Alexei Navalny:

"The United States has made it clear the the use of chemical weapons is unacceptable. When a chemical weapons was used against the Skripal, we took a very strong response. There is no reason to anticipate the United States won't react in a way that does justice to what may have taken place once all the facts are available."

...Nord Stream 2:

"The United States believes the Nord Stream 2 pipeline creates a risk for Europe by becoming dependent on gas that's coming out of Russia and also threatens Ukraine, something I know many German people care deeply about. We hope the Nord Stream 2 pipeline won't be completed, we are working to make sure we build a coalition to prevent that from happening. We hope the German government will come to see it this way, whether it's because of what took place to Mr Navalny or because of the real security implications that come from being dependent on Russian gas."