The United States will help Iraq increase its oil output so that Turkey and other importing countries remain well supplied after Washington ends its Iran sanctions waivers, Special Representative for Iran Brian Hook said in a press briefing on Tuesday
WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 23rd April, 2019) The United States will help Iraq increase its oil output so that Turkey and other importing countries remain well supplied after Washington ends its Iran sanctions waivers, Special Representative for Iran Brian Hook said in a press briefing on Tuesday."We have worked on the significant diplomatic overtures and helped on technical side with Iraq to boost their output, and are very pleased to see significant volumes of Iraqi oil now being imported into Turkey," Hook said. "Those overtures will continue so that Turkey, as well as all of the importing countries are able to obtain the oil that they need to continue to develop their economies."
The White House on Monday announced that the United States would end its sanctions waivers for importers of Iranian oil.
The announcement drew swift objections from Turkey and China, which were among the countries that previously received such waivers.
The White House said all six-month waivers - which the US also gave to India, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, Italy and Greece - would end on May 2 and would not be reissued.
Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu criticized the US move in a Twitter post, saying that his country rejects unilateral sanctions and US attempts to impose rules on Turkey's relations with its neighbors.
US President Donald Trump announced Washington's withdrawal from the Iran nuclear deal last May, triggering the reinstatement of the country's Iran sanctions, which had been previously lifted under the agreement. Two rounds of sanctions have been put into effect since then, including large-scale restrictions covering Iran oil exports.
The United States wants all countries to eventually cut their imports of Iranian oil to zero, which is likely to have a significant impact on the country, where oil exports serve as one of the main sources of revenue.
