Iran has threatened to close the Strait of Hormuz if it is barred from using it for oil exports. A US official said that would not be acceptable, hours after US President Donald Trump announced his cancellation of exemptions to buy Iranian oil without sanctions.
Iran's oil minister said on Monday that Iran's oil exports would not be zero, whether the exemptions continued or not, threatening that Iran would close the Strait of Hormuz if it was prevented from using it.
"As long as the sanctions we are dealing with are illegal in principle, the Islamic Republic of Iran has not commented and will not attach any importance to the exemptions associated with the alleged sanctions, and they do not consider them to be credible," the Iranian Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
Iran continues to "discuss" these issues with its partners, especially the Europeans, "permanently," the ministry said.
In turn, a source at the Iranian Oil Ministry said that Tehran is ready for any American decision, saying that the United States will not succeed in stopping Iranian oil exports because his country analyzed all possible conditions to promote exports.
| An Iranian oil port on the Gulf (Reuters) |
American rejection
In contrast, a senior administration official told a group of journalists, asking not to be named, that any move from Iran to close the strategic Strait of Hormuz would not be justified and acceptable. Trump was confident that Saudi Arabia and the UAE would honor their commitments to make up the difference in oil supplies to countries affected by the suspension of exports Iran.
He added that the United States did not see the need to study the use of the Strategic Petroleum Reserve after the end of the exemptions, and that US officials are now looking at ways to prevent Iran from circumventing existing oil sanctions.
The White House announced that Trump decided not to renew Iran's oil sanctions exemptions when it expires in May, noting that the decision is aimed at stopping Iranian oil exports altogether while depriving the regime of its main source of income.
The White House statement said that the countries currently exempted would face US sanctions if they continued to import Iranian oil, meaning that the suspension of exemptions would affect eight countries exempted from sanctions against Iran in an interim agreement - Turkey, China, India, Italy, Greece, Japan, South Korea and Taiwan.
"We do not accept unilateral sanctions and impose dictates on how to build our relationship with our neighbors," Turkish Foreign Minister Mouloud Gawishoglu said on Twitter.
The Turkish Foreign Ministry said on Twitter that Turkey criticized the US decision, saying it would not serve peace and stability in the region.
The South Korean Foreign Ministry promised to continue "to do everything possible to obtain a renewal of the exceptions."
Trump's decision will not be easy for China, which is conducting sensitive trade negotiations with Washington, nor for India, which imports 10 percent of its oil from Iran.
But US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said in a cautionary tone to his allies: "If you do not comply, there will be sanctions. We are determined to implement these sanctions."