The Trump administration announced Monday that it won’t renew waivers for countries currently importing Iranian oil. China, Greece, India, Italy, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan and Turkey will face sanctions once their present waivers expire on May 2.
Greece, Italy and Taiwan have already wound down their Iranian oil imports to zero, according to the Washington Post.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu praised the move, telling reporters Monday during his visit to the Kfar Nahum (Capernaum) National Park, “The decision of President Trump and the American administration is of great importance in increasing the pressure on the Iranian terrorist regime.
“We stand alongside the determination of the U.S. against the Iranian aggression and this is the right way to stop it.”
Alternative suppliers such as Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates are expected to take up the slack in the market, as Iran continues to be starved of the cash it needs to provide support for its terrorist proxies and other malign activities around the world.
“We are dramatically accelerating our pressure campaign in a calibrated way that meets our national security objectives while maintaining well supplied global oil markets,” U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said in a statement released Monday morning.
He said the Trump administration had “extensive and productive discussions with Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and other major producers to ease this transition and ensure sufficient supply. This, in addition to increasing U.S. production, underscores our confidence that energy markets will remain well supplied.
“We will continue to apply maximum pressure on the Iranian regime until its leaders change their destructive behavior, respect the rights of the Iranian people, and return to the negotiating table,” Pompeo added.