27 June 2018, Sweetcrude, Washington, D.C — A senior US State Department official says the countries purchasing oil from Iran should prepare themselves to completely stop the Iranian crude imports by November as Washington reimposes sanctions against Tehran.
The US official, who was speaking on condition of anonymity, told reporters on Tuesday that Washington seeks “to isolate streams of Iranian funding” for the Islamic Republic’s “malign behaviour across the region.”
Asked if Washington is pressuring its allies to slash Iranian oil imports to zero level by November, the official said, “Yes.”
The official noted that a US delegation will travel to the Middle East next week to encourage Persian Gulf oil producers to provide enough oil supplies to the global market after Iran’s exports are completely cut out in November.
US President Donald Trump announced on May 8 that Washington was walking away from Iran’s nuclear agreement, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), which was reached between Iran and the five permanent members of the UN Security Council – the United States, Britain, France, Russia and China – plus Germany.
Trump also said he would reinstate US nuclear sanctions on Iran and impose “the highest level” of economic bans on the Islamic Republic.