Eight importers get respite from the US to resume Iran oil trade

The United States of America on Friday announced that it would temporarily allow eight importers to resume buying Iranian oil when it reimposes sanctions on Monday in a bid to cut down on Iran’s nuclear activities.

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, who did not name which the eight importers were, termed them as ‘Jurisdictions’ instead — hinting they may even include regions such as Taiwan that the US does not recognize as countries. However, he stressed that the European Union as a whole, was not on the list.

There is a good chance that South Korea, India, Iraq, and Turkey could be the beneficiaries of this waiver, which may extend only to a maximum of 180 days — like most US exceptions.

Along with the new sanctions, it is also known that the US pushed SWIFT financial transactions system to earmark Iranian financial institutions that the former intends to blacklist.

Earlier in May, President Donald Trump resumed sanctions as he announced breaking away from the 2015 deal between Iran and major world powers. Tehran had agreed to curb its nuclear program for relief from sanctions under the deal.

However, Iran seems to be unfazed by the developments. Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Bahram Qasemi said, “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,” Qasemi added in a statement to a local TV channel.

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