US allows eight importers to continue buying Iranian oil for the moment

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The United States announced on Friday that it would temporarily allow eight importers to continue buying Iranian oil during Monday's reimposition of sanctions in an attempt to force Iran to limit its imports. nuclear activities, missiles and regional activities.

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, who announced the decision, did not name the eight, which he termed "jurisdictions," a term that could include importers such as Taiwan, which the United States does not consider not like a country.

After abandoning the 2015 Iranian nuclear deal, US President Donald Trump is attempting to paralyze the oil-dependent Iranian economy and force Tehran to quell not only its nuclear ambitions and its ballistic missile program, but also support for proxies in Syria, Yemen, Lebanon and elsewhere. parts of the Middle East.

On Twitter, in a message intended to emphasize his policy of "maximum pressure" vis-à-vis Iran, Trump included a photo of himself, inspired by a poster of it. entertainment industry, titled: "Sanctions will arrive on November 5."

China, India, South Korea, Turkey, Italy, the United Arab Emirates and Japan were the main importers of Iranian oil, while Taiwan occasionally buys Iranian crude oil shipments but is not a major buyer.

Turkey has been informed that it would be temporarily allowed to continue buying Iranian oil, its energy minister, as well as Iraq, has been announced to the press as long as it is do not pay Iran in US dollars, announced three Iraqi officials.

India and South Korea were also on the list, said a source close to the case that requested anonymity. Under US law, exceptions may be granted for up to 180 days.

Indian Oil Minister Dharmendra Pradhan said on Saturday that India and other major oil buyers would benefit from the US waiver.

"In the current geopolitical scenario, India has managed to convince international leaders," Pradhan told reporters in New Delhi.

Oil prices fell Friday for a weekly loss of more than 6%, investors worry about the excess supply of crude after US waivers.

The Brent LCoC1 futures contract fell 6 cents to $ 72.83 per barrel, while the US CLc1 crude fell by 55 cents to close the session at $ 63.14 per barrel. a loss of 0.86%.

US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin also said that Washington had told the Brussels-based SWIFT financial messaging service that it was planned to disconnect all Iranian financial institutions that the United States plans to blacklist. from Monday. He refused to name the targeted institutions.

Trump began the resumption of sanctions on May 8, when he announced the withdrawal of the United States from the 2015 agreement between Iran and the world powers under which Tehran had agreed to reduce its nuclear program in exchange for lifting sanctions.

"This part of the campaign aims to deprive the regime of the revenues it uses to spread death and destruction around the world," said Pompeo.

ZERO CRUDE

According to Pompeo, Washington will grant temporary waivers to the eight Iranian oil importers "only because they have demonstrated significant reductions in their crude oil and cooperation on many other fronts."

Two would stop imports and the other six would reduce them considerably, said Pompeo.

He later said that the ultimate goal was to stop all Iranian crude exports.

"We will eventually bring Iran to zero crude oil. It will take us a number of months to do it, "Pompeo told Fox News, according to the State Department's interview transcript. "We were able to do it in a way that did not have a significant impact on crude oil prices. It's a good thing for American consumers. "

Iran has said it is not worried by the re-imposition of US sanctions, which target not only its vital oil and gas sector, but also the shipping, shipbuilding and banking sectors.

"America will not be able to take any action against our great and courageous nation … We have the knowledge and the capacity to manage the country's economic affairs," Bahram Qasemi, spokesman for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, told state television Foreign Affairs of Iran.

However, ordinary Iranians fear an even harder compression of companies struggling to buy raw materials for the sick and elderly people unable to pay for life-saving drugs.

"I can not even buy rice to feed my children or pay my rent," said Pejman Sarafnejad, a 43-year-old primary school teacher and father of three in Tehran.

The European Union, France, Germany and Britain, parties to the nuclear deal that are trying to keep him alive, said he regretted Washington's decision to re-impose sanctions. The EU is creating a special mechanism to circumvent US financial sanctions against Iran.

The United States is able to put pressure on other countries to stop buying Iranian oil under a 2012 law allowing the president to cut off the US financial system banks foreign banks, including central banks, unless significantly reducing purchases.

The United States estimates that global oil supplies will exceed demand next year, which will allow countries to reduce Iran's oil imports to zero, told reporters Brian Hook, US special representative for the United States. ;Iran.