There was some doubt – and I harbored some myself – that the U.S. pulling out unilaterally from the Iran nuclear deal would really put any meaningful pressure on Iran.
The deal was between six countries, and even if U.S. companies were not able to do business with Iran, those in the others still seemed eager to do so. Even if the U.S. could freeze Iran’s remaining assets, they could probably find a way to get at them by laundering them through other countries.