Washington will consider waivers for Iranian oil buyers such as India but they must eventually halt imports as sanctions are imposed on Tehran, the US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on Thursday, according to Reuters.
Pompeo was speaking to reporters while in New Delhi with US Defense Secretary Jim Mattis for talks with their Indian counterparts. He added that some buyers of Iranian oil would take 'a little bit of time' to unwind their trade with Iran.
“We will consider waivers where appropriate but that it is our expectation that the purchases of Iranian crude oil will go to zero from every country or sanctions will be imposed. So we’ll work with the Indians, we committed that we will do that,” Pompeo asserted.
Despite Trump’s efforts, government officials in India, the world’s third-biggest oil importer and Iran’s top oil client after China, say that it would be difficult to fully halt supplies from Tehran.
In a sign of New Delhi’s desire to keep buying Iranian oil, Reuters reported this week that India had allowed its state refiners to use Tehran’s tanker and insurance cover after western and Indian shippers started winding down their Iran operations ahead of the Nov. 4 deadline.
The United States illegally pulled out of Iran nuclear deal back in May and re-imposed sanctions. The second round of sanctions will come into effect on November 4 targeting Iran's oil exports.
KI/PR