Washington : The US is prepared to take the ‘strongest action’ against countries and entities who are found not complying with the Trump administration’s sanctions on Iran, including reducing to zero the purchase of crude oil from the country, a senior official has told lawmakers.
The US pulled out of the 2015 landmark nuclear deal with Iran in May and will reimpose sanctions on the country’s oil sector in November. The Trump administration says it wants to cut Iran’s oil exports to zero – which would deprive the Iranian government of its biggest source of hard currency.
“We are prepared to take the strongest actions possible on people who will not assist us in complying with this new range of sanctions that we are putting back into place,” Manisha Singh, Assistant Secretary of State for Economic and Business Affairs, told lawmakers during a Congressional hearing.
Responding to a question from Congressman Eliot Engel, the official said the Trump Administration has been talking to all its allies and partners and trying to convince them to fully implement the new Iranian sanctions which the US has imposed following its withdrawal from the Iranian nuclear deal.
The US has told India and other countries to cut oil imports from Iran to ‘zero’ by November 4 or face sanctions, making it clear that there would be no waivers to anyone. Iran is India’s third-largest oil supplier behind Iraq and Saudi Arabia.
