WASHINGTON – The US is prepared to work with nations that are reducingtheir oil imports from Iran on a “case-by-case basis”, but will not grantwaivers to countries like India and Turkey as it could substantially reducepressure on sanctions-hit Tehran, according to a senior Trumpadministration official.
Iran is India’s third-largest oil supplierlink>behindIraq and Saudi Arabia. Iran supplied 18.4 million tonnes of crude oilduring April 2017 and January 2018 (first 10 months of 2017-18 fiscal).
Last month President Donald Trump withdrew the United States from the 2015landmark Iran nuclear deal, re-imposing US sanctions that had beensuspended in return for curbs on 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,link>tocompletely stop buying oil from Iran by November 4.
“We are not 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 yesterday.
“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.
Mr Hook said that the first part of US sanctions against Iran will snapback on August 6.
“These sanctions will include targeting Iran’s automotive sector, trade ingold, and other key metals,” he said.
“The remaining sanctions will snap back on November 4. These sanctions willinclude targeting Iran’s energy sector and petroleum-based transactions,and transactions with the Central Bank of Iran,” Mr 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,” Mr Hook said when asked about India andTurkey which import Iranian oil.
After Trump announced his withdrawal from the Iranian nuclear agreement, MrHook said American officials have been visiting several world capitals toconvey president Trump’s message of cooperation and coordination on theIran issue.
“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.
“Our focus is on getting as many countries importing Iranian crude down tozero as soon as possible. We are also working with oil market participants,including producers and consumers, to ensure market stability.
“Banking sanctions will also snap back on November 4th, and we will beaggressively enforcing these provisions to lock up Iran’s assets overseasand deny the Iranian regime access to its hard currency,” Mr Hook said.