US to end Iran oil waivers to 8 countries, including Turkey

WASHINGTON

The United States announced on April 22 it will no longer grant sanctions exemptions to eight countries, including Turkey.

The White House said that Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates- close U.S. allies that back President Donald Trump's hawkish stance against regional rival Iran- would work to make up the difference in oil to ensure that global markets are not rocked.

"This decision is intended to bring Iran's oil exports to zero, denying the regime its principal source of revenue," the White House said in a statement.

"The Trump administration and our allies are determined to sustain and expand the maximum economic pressure campaign against Iran to end the regime's destabilizing activity threatening the United States, our partners and allies and security in the Middle East," it said.

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said there will be no grace period for those economies to comply.

"We're going to zero. We're going to zero across the board," Pompeo told reporters after the White House announced the end to waivers in order to pressure Iran over its nuclear program. "There are no (oil) waivers that extend beyond that period, full stop."

Eight governments were initially given six-month reprieves from the unilateral U.S. sanctions on Iran. They were China, India, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, Turkey, Italy and Greece.

Trump last year withdrew the United States from an accord negotiated by his predecessor, Barack Obama, under which Iran drastically scaled back its nuclear program in return for promises of sanctions relief.

The Trump administration, backed by Saudi Arabia and Israel, has instead unilaterally imposed sanctions and demanded that other countries follow suit.