WASHINGTON – The US today said it is prepared to work with nations that arereducing their oil imports from Iran on a case-by-case basis, but ruled outgranting waivers to countries like India or Turkey as it couldsubstantially reduce pressure on Tehran.

Iran is India’s third-largest oil supplier behind Iraq and Saudi Arabia.Iran supplied 18.4 million tonnes of crude oil during April 2017 andJanuary 2018 (first 10 months of 2017-18 fiscal). Last month PresidentDonald Trump withdrew the United States from the landmark Iran nucleardeal, re-imposing US sanctions that had been suspended in return for curbson Tehran’s nuclear programme.

At the time, the Trump administration gave foreign companies either 90 or180 days to wind down their business with Iranian counterparts, dependingon the type of commercial activity.

Now, Washington is stepping up pressure on all countries, including Indiaand China, to completely stop buying oil from Iran by November 4. “We arenot looking to grant licenses or waivers, because doing so wouldsubstantially reduce pressure on Iran, and this is a campaign of imposingpressure,” Brian Hook, Director of Policy Planning at the State Departmenttold reporters at a news conference.

“And so, we are not looking to grant licenses or waivers broadly on thereimposition of sanctions, because we believe pressure is critical toachieve our national security objectives,” he said. Hook said that thefirst part of US sanctions against Iran will snap back on August 6.

“These sanctions will include targeting Iran’s automotive sector, trade ingold, and other key metals,” he said. “The remaining sanctions will snapback on November 4. These sanctions will include targeting Iran’s energysector and petroleum-based transactions, and transactions with the CentralBank of Iran,” Hook said.

“We are prepared to work with countries that are reducing their imports ona case-by-case basis, but as with our other sanctions, we are not lookingto grant wavers or licenses,” Hook said when asked about India and Turkeywhich import Iranian oil. After Trump announced his withdrawal from theIranian nuclear agreement, Hook said the American diplomatic teams from theState and Treasury are bringing with them a message of cooperation andcoordination.

“Many countries around the world share our interests in counteringterrorism, halting the proliferation of missiles and promoting peace andstability in the Middle East. We want to work with these countries to builda strong global effort, he said.