US pushing nations to cut Iran oil imports to zero by November 4

The United States is pushing foreign countries to cut their oil imports from Iran to zero by November, a senior State Department official says, as the Trump administration escalates its bid to pressure Iran after pulling out of the nuclear deal.

The official isn’t authorized to be identified by name and briefs reporters on condition of anonymity.

Last month, President Donald Trump announced the US was leaving the 2015 deal, in which sanctions on Iran — including its energy sector — were eased in exchange for Tehran agreeing to roll back its nuclear program. His administration said the oil sanctions would be going back into effect after a six-month grace period that expires November 4.

At the time, the Treasury Department had issued public guidance suggesting that countries needed to make a “significant reduction” in their imports, or else they would be subject to separate US sanctions prohibiting all transactions between their central banks and Iran’s central bank.

But the official says that Trump administration officials have been visiting European and Asian countries to say that the U.S. expects their imports to be zeroed out by the time the grace period ends.

The official also says the US is working with other Middle East countries to increase production so the global oil supply isn’t harmed.

— AP