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India among 8 countries to be given Iran oil sanctions waivers, says Michael Pompeo

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Secretary of State Michael Pompeo said the US will grant waivers to these countries to ease their transition away from Iranian crude oil.

Washington: The U.S. granted eight nations temporary waivers as it reimposed and ramped up sanctions targeting Iran’s energy and banking sector as part of the Trump administration’s “maximum pressure” campaign against the Islamic Republic.

The U.S. will grant waivers to China, India, Italy, Greece, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan and Turkey in order to ease their transition away from Iranian crude and avoid destabilizing the energy market, Secretary of State Michael Pompeo said on Monday.

More than 700 entities were targeted, many for the first time, Pompeo and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin told reporters in Washington. The list included 50 Iranian banks, 200 individuals, and shipping vessels tied to Iran’s shipping and energy sector and more than 65 Iranian aircraft. The action brings the total number of Iran-related targets to 900, the highest ever, according to the Treasury Department.

“Treasury’s imposition of unprecedented financial pressure on Iran should make clear to the Iranian regime that they will face mounting financial isolation and economic stagnation until they fundamentally change their destabilizing behavior,” Mnuchin said in a statement Monday. He said the pressure “is only going to mount from here” unless Iran’s leaders halt its support for terrorism and abandon its nuclear ambitions “immediately.”

Trump has said that the sanctions effort targets Iran’s government, not its people, and he said more sanctions will come until Iran’s government decides to “either abandon its destructive behavior or continue down the path toward economic disaster.”

Read the full list of sanctioned entities here.

Key Details

Pompeo says U.S. pressure campaign has taken more than 1 million barrels per day off the oil market and has cost Iran $2.5 billion in oil revenue since May. Pompeo vows “swift penalties” on any company that tries to secretly evade U.S. sanctions on Iran. Mnuchin says U.S. won’t stop humanitarian purchases by Iran. The U.S. warned that it could target the Swift financial messaging network for sanctions if it doesn’t halt transactions with sanctioned Iranian financial institutions. EU, German, U.K. and French officials last week said in a joint statement that they “deeply regret” the U.S. move and vowed to “protect European economic operators engaged in legitimate business with Iran.” Mnuchin on Friday said the U.S. is “intent on ensuring that global funds stop flowing to the coffers of the Iranian regime.” Trump said Friday the U.S. is open to reaching a new, more comprehensive deal with Iran that “forever blocks its path to a nuclear weapon, addresses the entire range of its malign actions, and is worthy of the Iranian people.” The waivers prompted conservative U.S. critics of the administration’s approach — including Republican Senators Marco Rubio and Ted Cruz — to say the White House was caving in on its tough line and to vow legislation to close what they consider loopholes. U.S. move follows Trump’s withdrawal from the 2015 Iran nuclear accord.

Market Reaction

Global benchmark Brent crude has fallen about 15 percent from over $85 a barrel last month on increasing speculation that at least some nations would get waivers, as well as signs that other OPEC members will pump more to offset any supply gap.-Bloomberg

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