The administration has been clear to China, Iran’s top oil consumer, about no additional waivers to the sanctions after the ones granted last November, one of the senior officials said.
“They’ve known about it, so to my knowledge that’s not being contemplated,” said the official on Friday, adding that ultimately questions about any wind-down period are for the State Department, Reuters reported.
The State Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Under US sanctions law, importers of Iranian oil including China, India and Turkey, could be allowed a wind-down period before getting to zero oil purchases, including a short-term waiver. Any wind-down measures would be different than the 180-day exceptions the Trump administration granted in November to China and seven other importers for significantly reducing oil purchases from Iran, measures set to end in May.
China has alternative oil suppliers including the United States and Saudi Arabia said the officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity.
“We understand they don’t like this,” the official said about China’s aversion to sanctions on Iran from the United States alone. “But at the same time they tend to act pragmatically and they are going to take what the best most reliable deal is.”
President Donald Trump left the 2015 nuclear deal between Tehran and world powers last May. Trump is now reapplying the oil sanctions, without exceptions, for reducing oil purchase.