The United States on Thursday exempted India and eight other countries from having to adhere to its sanctions on importing oil from Iran, noting that these nations had significantly reduced their dependence on Iranian oil in the last six months.
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said India, China, Malaysia, Republic of Korea, Singapore, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Turkey, and Taiwan had qualified for being granted an exemption from rules under America’s Iran Sanctions Act, based on additional significant reductions in the volume of their crude oil purchases from the middle-eastern nation and for having reduced such purchases to zero and maintained it.
Reiterating the U.S.’s stand against the Iranian nuclear programme, Mr. Kerry said the international community stood shoulder to shoulder with the U.S. in maintaining pressure on Iran till it fully addressed prevailing concerns“Today’s determination is another example of the international community’s strong and steady commitment to convince Iran to meet its international obligations,” he said.
‘Satisfy concerns, or face isolation’
“This determination takes place against the backdrop of other recent actions the administration has taken to increase pressure on Iran, including the issuance of a new Executive Order on June 3. The message to the Iranian regime from the international community is clear: take concrete actions to satisfy the concerns of the international community, or face increasing isolation and pressure,” Mr. Kerry said on Wednesday.
Meanwhile, White House Press Secretary Jay Carney said there was sufficient supply of non-Iranian oil to permit foreign countries to significantly reduce their purchases of Iranian oil.
“In this context, it is notable that many purchasers of Iranian crude oil have reduced or ceased altogether their purchases from Iran,” he said.
However, he noted that global oil consumption had exceeded production in recent months.
Looser market
“The international response to concerns about Iran’s nuclear activities has increased demand for non-Iranian crude. However, rising production from other countries, greater spare production capacity, economic developments, and smaller inventory draws in March and April 2013 indicate a looser international crude market,” he said.
The Obama administration has introduced a series of measures over the past week to step up pressure on Iran over its nuclear programme, which Washington suspects is aimed at making weapons but Iran insists is for generating electricity and medical research.
Washington hopes the pressure will force Iran to come clean on its nuclear activity so that the U.S. and its allies can avoid any military intervention to prevent the Islamic republic from obtaining an atomic arsenal.
Despite plummeting sales overseas, Iran remains one of the world’s largest oil producers. Its exports bring in tens of billions of dollars in revenue for the country.
Source:-www.thehindu.com
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