Trump will grant no waivers on purchases of Iranian oil. Effectively, this is an economic declaration of war on Iran.
Starting November 4, Trump threatens sanctions on any nation or company that trades with Iran.
Effectively, Trump sets sanction policy for the whole world, by proclamation.
Trump’s actions constitute an economic declaration of war on Iran. Any country that does not comply with his mandates will also be at war.
Deadline November 4
The U.S. is pressing allies to end all imports of Iranian oil by a Nov. 4 deadline and doesn’t want to offer any extensions or waivers as it follows through on President Donald Trump’s decision to quit the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, a State Department official said.
When Trump announced the U.S. was quitting the nuclear accord he warned that other nations would face sanctions unless they stopped trading with the Islamic Republic. Iran reached the 2015 agreement, which called for it to curb its nuclear program in return for the easing of sanctions, with the U.S., the U.K., France, Germany, China and Russia.
Saudi Arabia has a maximum production capacity of just above 12 million barrels a day, according to the International Energy Agency. If Iran exports drop more than one million barrels a day, Riyadh is likely to have to pump at maximum capacity for the first time since the late 1960s.
“If Saudi Arabia can not offset the loss of Iranian oil, then Washington could always tap into its Strategic Petroleum Reserve. So could China,” said Jan Stuart, an oil economist at consultant Cornerstone Macro LLC in New York.
Zero Tolerance
The Wall Street Journal says U.S. Signals Zero Tolerance on Future Iran Oil Exports
The U.S. expects all countries to cut oil imports from Iran to “zero” by Nov. 4 or risk sanctions, a senior U.S. State Department official said on Tuesday, expressing a toughening of the Trump administration’s Iran policy as Washington tries to politically and economically isolate Tehran.
Buyers of Iranian crude had expected the U.S. would allow them time to reduce their oil imports over a much longer period of time, by issuing sanctions waivers for nations that made significant efforts to cut their purchases.
But the senior State Department official said on Tuesday the administration doesn’t plan to issue any waivers, and would instead be asking other Middle Eastern crude exporters over the coming days to ensure oil supply to global markets.
