Washington wavers further on waivers

摘要

The US administration will consider requests from a "handful of countries" for exemptions from sanctions that penalise purchasers of Iranian crude, US secretary of state Mike Pompeo says. The US has been forced to reconcile its "maximum pressure" on Tehran, as it wants to ensure that cutting off Iranian exports does not create a domestic political backlash by pushing up crude and gasoline prices. "Come 4 November, there will be a US sanction that prevents crude from passing from Iran to other countries. We will enforce those sanctions," Pompeo says. "There will be a handful of countries that come to the US and ask for relief from that. We will consider it."