India and China among eight countries exempted from US sanctions on Iranian oil

NEW DELHI: The United States has allowed India and seven other countries to continue to temporarily buy Iranian crude oil despite the sanctions imposed on Tehran, easing fears of a possible uptick fuel prices if supplies from OPEC were completely stifled.

The main buyers from India and China from Iran, as well as from South Korea, Japan, Italy, Turkey, Greece and Taiwan, have been exempted from the sanctions imposed by the states United States, announced Monday the US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo. He warned those who had not given up "quick and severe sanctions" for their trade relations with the Islamic Republic.

Last Thursday, ET was the first to report that India and the United States had reached an agreement allowing New Delhi to continue buying Iranian crude oil, albeit at one level. lower than last year.

There was not much information on how much and how long each country could import oil from Iran. Continued imports would benefit mainly state-owned refineries such as Indian Oil and Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals, the largest importer of Iranian oil.

Supply interruptions due to sanctions imposed by Iran have never preoccupied India. However, the government was seriously worried about prices, which heightened fears that the sanctions imposed by Iran would remove a serious bid from the market. A surge in international prices kept local fuel prices at record levels for months, causing public frustration, which could turn into a heavy political responsibility for the ruling party in an election year.

The price of a barrel of Brent crude had reached $ 85 a barrel last month, but it has gradually fallen to about $ 73, as the market anticipates that the United States would exempt major buyers of Iranian crude from continuing to import for one year. time. On Monday, Brent crude gained about a dollar to reach $ 73.92 a barrel.

Pompeo said the US pressure campaign had cost Iran $ 2.5 billion in oil revenue since May. Pompeo said the waivers were only temporary measures to ease their transition of Iranian crude and to avoid destabilizing the energy market. But the Iranian leaders, who swore to fight the sanctions on Monday, saw in this victory a victory for their country.

"The fact that the United States is forced to exempt eight nations from sanctions on oil sales, while he previously said he wanted to cut Iran's oil sales to zero, is not a sign of the victory of Iran and the retreat of the United States, "Iranian President Hbadan Rouhani said. The sanctions cover 50 Iranian banks and subsidiaries, more than 200 pbadengers and vessels in the shipping sector, and target Tehran's national airline, Iran Air, as well as more than 65 of its planes, the statement said.