US to end sanction waivers for nations importing Iranian oil
The Trump administration is poised to tell five nations, including allies South Korea and Turkey, that they'll no longer be exempt from US sanctions if they continue to import oil from Iran. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo plans to announce today that the administration will not renew sanctions waivers for the five countries when they expire on May 2, three US officials said yesterday.
Unclear if the five nations would be given extra time
The other nations are Japan, China, and India. However, it wasn't immediately clear if any of the five would be given additional time to wind down their purchases or if they would be subject to US sanctions on May 3 if they do not immediately halt imports of Iranian oil. The officials disclosed the information on the condition of anonymity ahead of Pompeo's announcement.
The decision over waivers was finalized by Trump on Friday
The decision to not extend the waivers, which was first reported by The Washington Post, was finalized Friday by US President Donald Trump, according to the officials. They said it's intended to further ramp up pressure on Iran by strangling the revenue it gets from oil exports. The administration had granted eight oil sanctions waivers when it re-imposed sanctions on Iran.
Trump had pulled the US out of 2015 nuclear deal
Trump pulled the US out of the landmark 2015 nuclear deal and re-imposed sanctions on Iran. Following this, the administration had granted the eight oil sanctions waivers. They were granted in part to give those countries more time to find alternate energy sources but also to prevent a shock to global oil markets from the sudden removal of Iranian crude.
Since November, three of eight countries stopped Iranian oil imports
US officials now say they do not expect any significant reduction in the supply of oil, given production by other countries, including the US itself and Saudi Arabia, increases. Since November, three of the eight, Italy, Greece and Taiwan have stopped importing oil from Iran. The other five, however, have not, and have lobbied for their waivers to be extended.
Iranian oil critical to meeting country's energy needs: Turkey officials
NATO ally Turkey has made perhaps the most public case for an extension, with senior officials telling their US counterparts that Iranian oil is critical to meeting the energy needs in their country. The officials have also made the case that as a neighbor of Iran, Turkey cannot be expected to completely close its economy to the Iranian goods.
