Iran is bracing for a second round of U.S. sanctions which will take effect on Monday. <br />They are being described as the most stringent set of punitive measures since Washington withdrew from the 2015 landmark nuclear deal.<br />For more on this and other news around the world we turn to our Ro Aram…<br />Aram…tell us more…<br /><br />Well Mark… the sanctions are mostly aimed at financial and shipping sectors, but the most significant measures prohibit purchases of Iranian oil, which provides 80 percent of Tehran's tax revenue.<br />All countries and businesses that buy oil from Iran risk secondary sanctions from the United States, and the administration has vowed to pursue offenders aggressively.<br />But eight countries will be able to continue importing Iranian oil for a limited time at lower levels in order to avoid upsetting global crude markets.<br />Washington has not named the countries, but Turkey has revealed it is one of them and South Korea, China and Japan are also thought to be on the waiver list. <br />Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said they tried to pull all Iranian imports, but were unable to do so by Monday's deadline. <br />He added that he would not rule out the Trump administration extending the waivers beyond six months.<br />The sanctions are also aimed at cutting off Iran's banking sector from the global market. <br />However, Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin had said Iran will still be able to maintain limited access to the international financial transaction system, commonly known as SWIFT, but only for humanitarian purposes.<br />Tehran has remained defiant, saying it can deal with the impacts of sanctions, but Iranian citizens are anxious of the country's fluctuating currency and rising prices of goods. <br />Thousands of Iranians gathered in Tehran on Sunday to protest against the sanctions, with the crowd chanting "death to America."<br />The government-organized rallies coincided with the 39th anniversary of the seizure of the U.S. embassy in Tehran and was broadcast live on state TV. <br />
