The United States is urging its allies to cut imports of Iranian oil to “zero” by November 4, a move aimed at intensifying the Trump administration’s maximum pressure campaign against Tehran after leaving the 2015 nuclear deal.
“We’re going to isolate streams of Iranian funding and looking to highlight the totality of Iran’s malign behavior across the region,” a senior State Department official told reporters Tuesday.
The official, who has been traveling Europe and Asia, said that the administration does not plan to issue waivers. “I would be hesitant to say zero waivers ever,” the official said, but added that the predisposition is not to grant them.
U.S. officials have asked Japan to end imports, and plan to urge China and India to do the same. If countries do not do so, they risk U.S. sanctions.
“Their companies will be subject to the same sanctions that everybody else’s are if they engage in those sectors of the economy,” the official said of China and India. “We will certainly be requesting that their oil imports go to zero, without question.”
The official said the U.S. request is a “challenge” for countries that import Iranian oil, but one that allies, faced with the risk of sanctions, are willing to comply with.
“They genuinely understand that the secretary and the White House aren’t kidding about this, that as part of our maximum pressure economic campaign, the sanctions are going to come back on,” the official said. The U.S. also plans to meet with Middle Eastern allies “to ensure that the global supply of oil is not adversely affected.”
President Donald Trump announced in May that the U.S. would be leaving the 2015 nuclear deal and reimposing the “highest level of economic sanctions” lifted under the agreement. European parties to the deal vowed to stick with it and work to maintain sanctions relief to Iran—though they have acknowledged that doing so will be difficult. Many companies have announced their intent to leave Iran.
That includes energy giant Total, which has said it will be unable to continue with a gas development project there without a waiver. State Department officials, asked on Tuesday about the European position on the U.S. sanctions campaign, pointed to the “flight” of European business from Iran.
“The self-policing of European companies, the flight of European companies doing business in Iran away from Iran, has changed the equation,” Wess Mitchell, U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs, told lawmakers. “When European leaders look at Iran and they see their own businesses are voluntarily removing themselves from the equation in Iran. I think that creates a different playing field.”
Mitchell said that there “is some difference of opinion” among European countries and that more would become known about their position on Iran sanctions “in coming days.”
In early June, European officials asked the Trump administration for exemptions in sectors like civil aviation and banking. “As close allies, we expect that the extraterritorial effects of U.S. secondary sanctions will not be enforced on EU entities and individuals, and the United States will thus respect our political decisions,” they wrote.
According to an Iranian official cited in Iranian media, the Europeans have been working to “compile a package to keep the JCPOA alive” consisting of “economic measures against U.S. sanctions.” Iran has said that it is moving to increase its uranium enrichment capacity in case the deal fails.
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said in May that Iran could see sanctions relief if its leaders make “major changes.” He listed 12 conditions, including ending support to groups like Hezbollah and Hamas, “permanently and verifiably” abandoning its nuclear work, and ending uranium enrichment.
“Relief from our efforts will come only when we see tangible, demonstrated, and sustained shifts in Tehran’s policies,” Pompeo said. “We’re not asking anything other than that Iranian behavior be consistent with global norms.”
Iran has seen angry protests in recent days, which a senior State Department official on Tuesday attributed to the regime wasting money abroad rather than at home. “Iranians are basically fed up with the regime squandering the nation’s wealth on not particularly productive or enriching adventures abroad,” the official said.
