US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo confirmed that the sanctions his country would impose on Iran were aimed at the regime in Tehran, not the Iranian people.
"On Nov. 5, we will impose harsh sanctions on the regime in Iran," Pompeo said in a tweet on his Twitter account. "Our goal is to compel Iran to abandon its destructive activities."
"Sanctions will target the regime, not the people who have suffered mismanagement of their government, theft and brutality," he said.
US President Trump withdrew from the nuclear deal between Iran and international powers last May, calling it "fundamentally flawed."
Trump chanted on Twitter on Friday "sanctions are coming," using the slogan of the famous TV series Al-Arush "Winter is coming".
Washington re-imposed the first tranche of sanctions in August.
The new sanctions mean preventing all foreign countries, entities or companies from entering US markets if they decide to proceed with the purchase of Iranian oil or continue to deal with Iranian banks.
Trump said he was ready to meet with Tehran's leaders to negotiate a comprehensive agreement on the basis of 12 conditions, notably tougher restrictions on Iran's nuclear capabilities as set out in the 2015 agreement, restrictions on the spread of Iranian ballistic missiles and a halt to "destabilizing Iranian activities" In many Middle Eastern countries such as Syria, Yemen and Lebanon.
Trump said on Friday in a statement that Washington was "ready to reach a new agreement more integrated with Iran."
