China, Japan, India among those exempt from Iran oil sanctions, says US
- Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said some exemptions would only last ‘weeks’, while others would require a dramatic reduction in supply
- National Security Adviser John Bolton said more sanctions on Tehran are in the pipeline, but did not give details
The United States will exempt China, India and Japan from oil sanctions on Iran, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on Monday, while vowing to be “relentless” in pressuring Tehran.
Pompeo listed eight places that will enjoy temporary waivers from a ban on all oil transactions with Iran: China, Taiwan, India, Italy, Greece, Japan, South Korea and Turkey.
Earlier in the day, the administration reimposed sanctions on Iran’s energy, banking, shipbuilding and shipping sectors to compel Tehran to end its nuclear programme and support for militant groups in the Middle East.
“These sanctions hit at the core areas of Iran’s economy,” Pompeo told reporters on Friday. “They are necessary to spur changes we seek on the part of the regime,” which the administration claims is the world’s largest state sponsor of terrorism.
He said that two of the eight jurisdictions will wind down Iranian oil imports to zero in “weeks” and the six others will import “at greatly reduced levels”.