US Ready To Sanction Chinese Companies Buying Iranian Oil - Pompeo

US Ready to Sanction Chinese Companies Buying Iranian Oil - Pompeo

The United States is prepared to introduce sanctions against Chinese companies that purchase oil from Iran as such activities violate US law, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on Friday

WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 17th January, 2020) The United States is prepared to introduce sanctions against Chinese companies that purchase oil from Iran as such activities violate US law, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on Friday.

"Well, it's illegal. It violates US law. And we are doing our best to enforce our sanctions across every entity that violates the US sanctions regime," Pompeo said in an interview with Hugh Hewitt. "And to the extent there is a Chinese entity, or a Chinese company that is purchasing products from Iran that violate our laws, we're going to do everything we can to enforce those sanctions against every violator of our restrictions."

In May 2018, the United States unilaterally withdrew from the 2015 nuclear agreement with Iran and re-introduced wide-ranging sanctions against Tehran. Washington vowed to drive Iran's oil exports down to zero and demanded that other countries stop any purchases from that country or risk being sanctioned.

The nuclear agreement - also signed by China, France, Germany, Russia, Germany, the United Kingdom and the European Union - stipulated that Iran should keep its nuclear program peaceful and downgrade its uranium reserves in exchange for sanctions relief.

On the first anniversary of the United States' unilateral withdrawal from the nuclear agreement, Iran announced a gradual reduction of its obligations under the accord.

Earlier in January, in the aftermath of the US drone attack that killed top Iranian commander Qasem Soleimani, Iran announced that it was discontinuing its remaining obligations under the nuclear agreement.

Iran's Ambassador to the United Nations Majid Takht Ravanchi said that despite the rollback, Tehran is not interested in possessing nuclear weapons.