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Shortly after US President Donald H. Trump announced in May that he would impose new sanctions on Iran, the US State Department began telling countries around the world that it was time to end their purchases in Tehran.
According to Reuters, "the strategy aims to paralyze the oil-dependent Iranian economy, where sanctions will be applied in Tehran on Sunday.
Oil prices in world markets reached just under $ 87 a barrel this month, the highest level in four years.
A source familiar with the administration plans to grant limited exemptions to some Iranian oil customers.
"If you manage, you will want to make sure that there will be no price increase," the source said.
These exemptions could pose a dilemma for the White House, which is seeking stricter conditions than those imposed by Obama, who imposed sanctions on his European allies, which led to an agreement to curb the development of nuclear weapons by l & # 39; Iran.
US Treasury Secretary Stephen Menuchin said countries should cut their Iranian oil purchases by more than 20 percent from previous sanctions.
Teams from the US Treasury and US state departments have visited more than 20 countries since Trump pulled out of the nuclear deal on May 8 to warn businesses and countries of the dangers of trade with the United States. 'Iran.
Japan and South Korea have already cut American allies to import Iranian crude. But the situation is less clear among others who are the biggest buyers.
The Special Representative of the US Department of State for Iran, Brian Van Hoek, and the chief US Energy Officer, Frank Vanun, have recently met with officials from India, the United States. Iran's second largest oil buyer, in mid-October, after an American source said for the first time that the administration is seriously considering exemptions.
An Indian government source said India had informed the US delegation that high energy costs due to the low rupee and rising oil prices meant that the suspension of oil purchases Iran would be impossible until at least March.
"We talked about it in the United States, and during Brian Hawk's visit, we can not stop importing Iranian oil as long as the alternatives are expensive," the source said.
A US diplomat confirmed the talks, saying that granting limited exemptions to India and other countries was possible.
India usually imports more than 500,000 barrels of Iranian oil, but has reduced this level in recent months, according to official data.
Talks are also underway with Turkey, Iran's fourth largest oil buyer, although Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Turkish ministers have publicly criticized the sanctions.
An industry source in Turkey, accustomed to talks for Reuters, said Ankara had already halved its Iranian oil imports and could reach zero, but preferred to continue some purchases.
The Obama administration has granted Turkey a six-month exemption, but the latter expects the Trump administration to impose stricter requirements on exemptions that could cover shorter periods.
"It could take three months, or maybe they will not benefit from any exemptions, all this is somewhat unpredictable because we realize that a lot of things are in Trump's hands," said the source.
The situation is less clear in China, the largest customer of Iran, for which state-owned companies also require exemptions. Beijing has received between 500 and 800,000 barrels a day in recent months, a normal range.
Both sources said Beijing's signals to its refineries were mixed. Last week, Reuters announced that the Sinopec Group and CNPC (National Petroleum Corporation), the country's two largest refiners, had not reserved Iranian oil for shipment in November due to concerns about punishments.
Joe McMonigel, an energy analyst at Hedgeigh in Washington, said he expected the administration to accept that China buys a certain level of Iranian oil, given its consumption.
"Of all countries, I do not think they think China will reach zero," he said.
The head of the US State Department is due to visit Asia in the coming days, with the intention of speaking in Singapore today. One official did not say if Fanon would use his visit to discuss Iran with China.
Hyundai Engineering and Construction announced yesterday that it has canceled a contract worth 595 billion won ($ 521 million) for the construction of a petrochemical complex in Iran, noting that Iran's ability to finance the deal had been compromised by possible sanctions.
According to Reuters, in a regulatory disclosure, Hyundai Engineering and Construction confirmed that a consortium led by the project to cancel the contract yesterday.
"The contract was canceled due to lack of funding, which was a prerequisite for its implementation, where external factors such as economic sanctions against Iran have worsened," said Hyundai Engineering and Construction.
As of November 4, the United States will impose sanctions on Iranian oil exports.
Iran began Sunday to sell its oil for the first time to private companies through the energy exchange, to counter the imminent application of new US sanctions.
The sale of 280,000 barrels of crude oil on the Iranian stock market over a million barrels was proposed at $ 74.85 per barrel, and less than $ 4 compared to the price of the initial demand, according to "French".
The identity of the buyers, whom Fars reported as a private conglomerate and who made purchases through intermediaries, was not disclosed.
Iran suffers from endemic corruption in the administration, as well as poverty and unemployment, all the more so as the youth unemployment rate reached 28.8% in 2017, pushing thousands of Iranians to demonstrate at every stage of the mullahs' policy.
It is worth mentioning that members of the "Congress" in favor of US President Donald Trump have called for the application of tougher sanctions to Iran on November 4 to ensure Tehran's isolation from the system global banking.
US lawmakers fear that the government has not promised to exert "maximum pressure" on Iran. A second set of sanctions, mitigated by the 2015 nuclear deal, is reinstated, saying the new sanctions do not include the decision to isolate Iran from the global financial system.
According to the Associated Press, conservative members of Congress and government advisers urge the US president to include the ban on Swift system by Iran on the sanctions list as they fear that the sanctions against Iran at the beginning of next month are not severe enough.
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