US waivers 'not enough', painful time ahead, says Iranian oil minister

Iran’s Oil Minister Bijan Zanganeh predicts a painful time for international oil customers as US sanctions take hold this week.

MENA

1 min read

The New Arab

08 November, 2018

A painful time lies ahead for Iran's international oil customers [Anadolu]

A painful time lies ahead for Iran's international oil customers as US sanctions took hold this week, Iran's Oil Minister Bijan Zanganeh said on Thursday.

The waivers granted by Washington to eight major oil-importing country are not enough for market demands, Zanganeh said on Iranian state TV, adding that the months ahead were going to be "painful months for oil consumers".

Zanganeh claimed the Trump administration may have been able to "superficially" bring fuel prices down ahead of the US mid-term elections this week but that there's bound to be a hike in prices in the future.

President Donald Trump in May pulled out of an international agreement negotiated under his predecessor Barack Obama, in which Iran curtailed its nuclear program in return for sanctions relief.

The Trump administration said that the deal did not address other concerns, including Tehran's support for regional proxies such as Hizballah, and has boasted of the economic contraction forecast in Iran due to the renewed sanctions.

The United States has nonetheless granted eight waivers to places including China, India and Japan, which will not immediately be punished for continuing to buy Iranian oil for another six months.

Agencies contributed to this report.