Reuters, WashingtonWednesday, 3 April 2019
Three of eight countries granted waivers by Washington to import oil from Iran have now cut the imports to zero, a US official said on Tuesday, adding that improved global oil market conditions would help reduce Iranian crude exports further.
Hook said a decision on whether to extend the waivers would be made “in due course.” (File photo: AP)
The United States re-imposed sanctions on Iran after President Donald Trump last May withdrew the country from a 2015 nuclear deal between Iran and several world powers, accusing it of supporting terrorism and conflicts in Syria and Yemen.
While the United States has set a goal of completely halting Iran’s oil exports, it granted temporary import waivers to China, India, Greece, Italy, Taiwan, Japan, Turkey and South Korea to ensure low oil prices and no disruption to the global oil market.
The Trump administration is currently in consultations with the countries ahead of a May 2 deadline when the waivers expire.
“In November, we granted eight oil waivers to avoid a spike in the price of oil. I can confirm today three of those importers are now at zero,” Brian Hook, the special US envoy for Iran, told reporters.
Hook did not identify the three countries.
“There are better market conditions for us to accelerate our path to zero,” Hook said. “We are not looking to grant any waivers or exceptions to our sanctions regime.”
