Tasnim � The total value of US exports to Iran during August, when Washington re-imposed anti-Tehran sanctions, increased four times compared to a month earlier and the same period in 2017, according to the latest data released by the US Census Bureau.

The Census Bureau�s data showed that US exports to Iran during August rose by 400 percent year-on-year to $149.8 million.

In August 2017, the United States had exported $34.7 million worth of goods to Iran, according to the report.

In July this year, the total value of US exports to the Islamic Republic stood at $35.7 million.

The US imports from Iran during August 2018 also increased by 200 percent compared to the same period last year, reaching $7.1 million.

The rise in US exports to Iran and imports from the country came in spite of Washington's withdrawal from the 2015 Iran nuclear deal and re-imposition of anti-Tehran sanctions.

On May 8, the US president pulled his country out of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), the nuclear deal that was achieved in Vienna in 2015 after years of negotiations among Iran and the Group 5+1 (Russia, China, the US, Britain, France and Germany).

Following the US exit, Iran and the remaining parties launched talks to save the accord.

Trump on August 6 signed an executive order re-imposing many sanctions on Iran, three months after pulling out of the Iran nuclear deal.

He said the US policy is to levy �maximum economic pressure� on the country.

Trump also restated his opinion that the 2015 Iran nuclear deal was a �horrible, one-sided deal�.