Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said the Trump administration intends to keep pressing ahead with sanctions and other efforts to starve the Iranian regime of access to global funds. | Alex Wong/Getty Images Foreign Policy 'Sanctions are coming': Trump warns Iran with 'Game of Thrones' meme Cabinet officials acknowledged that at least eight 'jurisdictions' will be given waivers — for now.

President Donald Trump is using a "Game of Thrones" meme to boast to Iran's leaders that they are about to feel even more economic pain.

"Sanctions are coming, November 5," the president warned in a tweet Friday. The words were emblazoned on top of a poster-like picture of himself. The slogan echoed that of a common phrase in the hit HBO show about warring clans, even using font similar to that used by the drama.


The president's tweet came the same day his top aides touted their “maximum pressure” campaign on Iran as being already highly successful — even before the U.S. sanctions that target the country’s oil sector take effect Monday.

In a call with reporters Friday morning, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said the administration intends to keep pressing ahead with sanctions and other efforts to starve the Iranian regime of access to global funds.

The Cabinet officials acknowledged that at least eight “jurisdictions” will be given waivers that allow them, for now, to keep importing oil from Iran without facing U.S. penalties.

POLITICO Playbook newsletter Sign up today to receive the #1-rated newsletter in politics Email Sign Up By signing up you agree to receive email newsletters or alerts from POLITICO. You can unsubscribe at any time. This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

But two of the exempted jurisdictions will ultimately fully cut imports as part of their agreements with the U.S., while the other six will import “at greatly reduced levels,” Pompeo said. He emphasized that the deals would be temporary and said the Trump administration had demanded “much more serious concessions” than had been extracted by the Obama administration for such exemptions.

The Trump administration did not name the exempted jurisdictions, but they are expected to include China, India and Turkey. The European Union is not among the exempted jurisdictions, Pompeo said.

The secretary of State noted that the pressure campaign has already badly hit Iran’s critical oil sector.

“We will, we expect, have reduced Iranian crude oil exports by more than 1 million barrels even before these sanctions go into effect,” Pompeo said, crediting the administration’s efforts to force other countries to cut off commercial ties to Tehran.

The goal is “depriving the regime of the revenues it uses to spread death and destruction around the world,” Pompeo said.

Aside from Iran’s oil sector, the latest sanctions that lock in Monday target its shipping, shipbuilding and banking sectors.

In a statement released by the White House later Friday, Trump said: "On Monday, November 5, the termination of United States participation in the Iran nuclear deal will be complete. The last set of sanctions lifted under the terrible nuclear deal will come back into force, including powerful sanctions on Iran’s energy, shipping, and shipbuilding sectors, and sanctions targeting transactions with the Central Bank of Iran and sanctioned Iranian banks.

"Our objective is to force the regime into a clear choice: either abandon its destructive behavior or continue down the path toward economic disaster."

For its part, HBO was displeased with Trump's attempt to co-opt the "Game of Thrones" symbolism.

"We were not aware of this messaging and would prefer our trademark not be misappropriated for political purposes," the network told NBC News.

The Trump team is in large part reimposing sanctions that had been lifted under the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, which was struck under President Barack Obama. Trump quit the nuclear deal earlier this year, saying he wants to negotiate a better agreement that covers Iran’s nuclear program but also tackles its other nefarious activities, including its support for terrorist groups.

Trump aides have gone beyond the U.S. sanctions originally imposed by Obama to drag Iran to the negotiating table.

Mnuchin said the list of sanctioned entities will be published Monday and will cover more than 700 entities, including over 300 new designations. Under both administrations, many of the sanctions not only apply to Iranian individuals and entities, but also to individuals and entities in other countries that do business with Iran.

Mnuchin also said SWIFT, the bank messaging system that helps transmit billions of dollars around the world every day, would be treated the same as any other entity, noting it would be subject to sanctions if it provides financial services to designated entities.

There’s an exception for humanitarian actions, Mnuchin said, but “banks must be very careful that these are not disguised transactions."

Some Republican lawmakers are unhappy with the administration’s approach to SWIFT, saying there are too many loopholes.

The Trump administration’s overall approach to Iran has also upset European allies, some of which helped negotiate the nuclear deal. European leaders say they are trying to come up with a special financial vehicle that will allow Iran to keep doing business with other countries without any of those countries running afoul of U.S. sanctions.

Rebecca Morin contributed to this report.