Media Wire

US to Announce End of Sanctions Waivers for Iran Oil Imports

The United States is to announce that all importers of Iranian oil will have to end their imports shortly or face US sanctions, a report says.

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo — the alleged architect of the so-called zero tolerance policy — will make the announcement on Monday, The Washington Post reported Sunday, citing two State Department officials.

The administration of President Donald Trump left a multi-lateral nuclear agreement with Iran last May. Afterwards, Washington re-imposed the sanctions that had been lifted under the accord.

Last November, the US enforced sanctions targeting the Islamic Republic’s banking and energy sector, however, it granted waivers from the bans to eight major importers of the Iranian oil, fearing market instability including China, India, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, Turkey, Italy and Greece.

Now, Pompeo is expected to declare that the State Department will not be exempting the importers of Iranian crude or condensates beyond May 2, which is the deadline for renewing the waivers.

A senior State Department official said Washington was going ahead with the decision “because the conditions to not grant any more SREs have now been met,” pointing to “significant reduction exceptions” — Washington’s term for the waivers.

‘Saudi, UAE offsetting Iran supply’

Officials cited by the daily claimed that this time around, market would avert disruptions as Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) had given commitments to increase supply.

Despite the alleged assurances, benchmark Brent crude oil futures rose by as much as 3.2 percent to $74.30 a barrel, the highest since November 1, in early trading on Monday “in reaction to expectations of tightening supply,” Reuters reported. US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) futures climbed as much as 2.9 percent to $65.87 a barrel, its highest since October 30.

Since his inauguration in 2016, Trump has been rallying the two countries, its closest allies in the Persian Gulf region, around an anti-Iran drive. Tehran has warned the region’s countries against falling for the US ploy, saying it threatens to further alienate regional countries and trigger more tensions.

Mastermind of ‘zero tolerance’

A senior official, meanwhile, referred to Pompeo as the person who “originated” the so-called policy of zero tolerance, noting, “He has executed this policy in tight coordination with the president every step of the way.”

Since Trump took office, the US has been leading more antagonistic policies towards Iran under the banner of “maximum pressure.” The US president claims the drive seeks to initiate negotiations leading to a “better” nuclear deal.

The US withdrawal from the historical 2015 accord, officially known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), came despite marathon negotiations leading to the accord’s conclusion, which had been mediated by the European Union.

Both the departure and the reinstatement of sanctions came while the accord has been ratified in the form of a United Nations Security Council resolution.

All the other parties to the JCPOA, namely the UK, France, Russia, China, and Germany have strongly condemned the US actions over its unilateralism and violation of international law.

The US says its envisioned agreement would also be addressing Iran’s regional policies and missile activities. Tehran has strongly warned Washington against trying to interfere in its domestic and political affairs, and has vowed to resolutely pursue its missile program in line with its inalienable right to enhance its defensive prowess.

IFP Media Wire

Reports and views published in the Media Wire section have been retrieved from other news agencies and websites, and do not necessarily reflect the opinion of the Iran Front Page (IFP) news website. The IFP may change the headlines of the reports in a bid to make them compatible with its own style of covering Iran News, and does not make any changes to the content. The source and URL of all reports and news stories are mentioned at the bottom of each article.

Recent Posts

One child gets killed every hour in Gaza: UN

The United Nations agency for Palestine refugees (UNRWA) has announced that 14,500 Palestinian children have…

2 hours ago

Several killed in blast at explosives factory in Turkey

At least 12 people were killed and three others wounded after a blast rocked an…

2 hours ago

Zelensky claims over 3k North Korean soldiers killed, wounded in Russia

The number of killed and injured North Korean soldiers fighting alongside Russian forces in Kursk…

2 hours ago

Iran Judiciary: No complains lodged against ex-FM Zarif over dual citizenship

The spokesperson for Iran’s Judiciary clarified that no complaints have been filed against former Foreign…

2 hours ago

Iran to unveil first AI-equipped oil well

The Iranian Vice President for Science, Technology and Knowledge-Based Economy has announced the inauguration of…

5 hours ago

Syrian rights group compiles list of over 16k Assad gov’t affiliates accused of crimes against civilians

A Syrian rights group has announced that it has compiled a list of around 16,200…

5 hours ago