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US ends sanctions waivers for Iranian oil importers
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced yesterday that the US will no longer grant sanctions waivers to countries that buy Iranian oil.
Pompeo said: “We will no longer grant any exemptions. We’re going to zero. We will continue to enforce sanctions and monitor compliance. Any nation or entity interacting with Iran should do its diligence and err on the side of caution. The risks are simply not going to be worth the benefits.”
Pompeo added that the decision is intended to bring Iran’s oil exports to zero, denying the Islamic Republic its main source of revenue.
The US issued eight waivers when it re-imposed sanctions on Iran in November 2018 after US President Donald Trump pulled the US out of the 2015 nuclear deal last May. The waivers were issued to give certain countries more time to find alternative energy sources but also to prevent a shock to global oil markets from the sudden removal of Iranian crude.
The White House said waivers for China, India, Japan, South Korea and Turkey would expire on 3 May, after which they could face US sanctions themselves. Neither Pompeo or senior state department officials would say whether sanctions would be immediately imposed on the affected countries on 3 May if oil purchases continued. Greece, Italy and Taiwan have all halted imports of Iranian oil.
Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu praised the Trump administration for further tightening sanctions enforcement on Iran. He said the decision: “Is of great importance for increasing pressure on the Iranian terrorist regime”.
President Trump tweeted yesterday: “Saudi Arabia and others in OPEC will more than make up the Oil Flow difference in our now Full Sanctions on Iranian Oil. Iran is being given VERY BAD advice by @JohnKerry and people who helped him lead the U.S. into the very bad Iran Nuclear Deal.”
Iranian exports are currently estimated to be below 1 million barrels per day (bpd), compared to more than 2.5 million bpd before the US withdrew from the nuclear deal. Saudi Energy Minister Khalid al-Falih said his country would co-ordinate with fellow oil producers to ensure “the global oil market does not go out of balance”.