LONDON: The US said on Friday that it will exempt eight countries from
new Iran oil sanctions but only at much lower levels, as the Trump
administration announces the reimposition of all US sanctions on Tehran
that had been lifted under the 2015 nuclear deal.The sanctions cover Iran’s shipping, financial and energy sectors. They’re the second batch of penalties reimposed since President Donald Trump withdrew from the deal in May.
The sanctions that’ll come into force Monday penalize countries that don’t stop importing Iranian oil and foreign companies that do business with blacklisted Iranian entities.
Pompeo said eight nations, which other officials identified as US allies such as Italy, India, Japan and South Korea, will receive temporary waivers allowing them to continue to import Iranian petroleum products for a limited period as long as they end such imports entirely. He said those countries had made efforts to eliminate their imports but could not complete the task by Monday’s deadline.
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said the sanctions are “aimed at fundamentally altering the behavior of the Islamic Republic of Iran.” He has released a list of 12 demands that Iran must meet if it wants the sanctions lifted. They include ending support for terrorism, ending military engagement in Syria and completely halting its nuclear and ballistic missile development.
“Maximum pressure means maximum pressure,” he said.
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Treasury Secretary Stephen Mnuchin made the announcement Friday. They say sanctions will remain until Iran meets demands that include ending support for terrorism, ending military engagement in Syria and completely halting its nuclear and ballistic missile development.
Mnuchin said on Friday that the Washington will also add 700 persons to Iran’s sanctions blacklist.
He also said the Belgian-based financial messaging service SWIFT could be hit with US sanctions if it provides services to Iranian financial institutions that Washington blacklists.
“SWIFT is no different than any other entity,” Mnuchin told reporters on a conference call. “We have advised SWIFT that it must disconnect any Iranian financial institutions that we designate as soon as technologically feasible to avoid sanctions exposure.”
In response, Iran said that it had no concerns over the reimposition of new US sanctions on the country’s vital oil and financial sectors, expected to be announced by Washington on Nov. 4.
“America will not be able to carry out any measure against our great and brave nation ... We have the knowledge and the capability to manage the country’s economic affairs,” Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Bahram Qasemi told state TV.
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