U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo will announce to the media today that, as of May 2, the State Department will no longer grant sanctions waivers to any country that is importing Iranian oil, the Washington Post reported citing two State Department officials.
The decision to end waivers has implications for world oil markets, which have been eagerly anticipating U.S. President Donald Trump’s decision on whether to extend waivers.
The officials said market disruption should be minimal for two reasons: supply is now greater than demand and Pompeo is also set to announce offsets through commitments from other suppliers such as Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.
Three of the eight countries that received U.S. waivers last November have already reduced their Iranian oil imports to zero: Greece, Italy and Taiwan. The other countries that will now have to cut off Iranian oil imports or be subject to U.S. sanctions are China, India, Turkey, Japan and South Korea.
