The US will enforce sanctions on all of Iran’s oil buyers, including China, Russia and Europe, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said Thursday, without offering any wiggle room like Secretary of State Mike Pompeo used earlier in the week by saying the US would consider exceptions.
The sanctions snap back November 4 and could block up to 1 million b/d of Iranian exports. The deadline and potential supply shortage has kept oil prices elevated for weeks.
“It is our intent to enforce sanctions on Iran-related-oil against everybody, including China,” Mnuchin said while testifying before the House Financial Services Committee.
Oil prices rose sharply two weeks ago after the State Department announced it would offer no waivers to Iran’s oil buyers, a hardline approach many allies did not expect after the Obama administration allowed them to continue some imports in 2012-2015 as long as they made significant cuts every six months.
But a week later, a top State Department official said the US would work with some Iran oil importers on a case-by-case basis to reduce their imports while trying to cut Iran’s oil revenues as much as possible.
Brian Hook, the US State Department’s director for policy planning, said the government is working to minimize disruptions to the global market and the US is “confident that there is sufficient global spare oil production capacity.”
“Our focus is on getting as many countries importing Iranian crude down to zero as soon as possible,” Hook said. “We are also working with oil market participants, including producers and consumers, to ensure market stability.”
–Meghan Gordon, [email protected]
–Edited by Maurice Geller, [email protected]
Source: S&P Global Platts
