The Obama administration is reaching out to China and other countries requesting that they reduce or stop purchases of Iranian crude oil in the hope that will deprive the Iranian government of a revenue source that allows it to pursue policies "dangerous" to the rest of the world, according to State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland. In a Jan. 5 briefing, she said if countries, including China, work with the United States on this issue, it will be an "important next step in the global effort to tighten the noose" on the Iranian regime. Nuland noted that senior U.S. officials, including Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs Kurt Campbell, have raised this issue with Chinese leaders. Separately, Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner on his trip to China and Japan this week will discuss the continued international coordination to put pressure on the government Iran, according to a Jan. 4 Treasury announcement. In addition, China's role as Iran's main oil customer is high on the agenda of a new inter-agency group on China to be led by State and the Department of Energy, according to informed sources. The group is co-chaired by Deputy Secretary Dan Poneman and Carlos Pascual, State's Special Envoy and Coordinator for International Energy Affairs, they said. The U.S. outreach to other countries on reducing or cutting their purchases of Iranian crude oil shows it is trying to implement multilaterally the provisions of the National Defense Authorization Act that sanctions foreign countries' dealings with the Central Bank of Iran, according to Richard Sawaya of the National Foreign Trade Council. The Bank handles Iran's oil revenue.
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