WSJ: US Pressures Iran with its Oil to Achieve “Nuclear Gains”
The Wall Street Journal published an article entitled "US Weighs New Sanctions on Iran’s Oil Sales to China if Nuclear Talks Fail."
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WSJ: "The U.S. is running through options intended to induce Iran to keep negotiating."
The Wall Street Journal stated that "The US is considering tighter sanctions on Iranian oil sales to China as a way to encourage Tehran to conclude a nuclear deal."
The paper also relayed from US officials that the United States is currently looking into several options that should "induce Iran to keep negotiating or punish it if it doesn't."
"One plan being drafted would choke off Iran’s swelling crude-oil sales to China, the country’s main client, through fresh sanctions targeting the shipping networks that help export an estimated one million barrels a day and bring critical revenue to Iran", according to the official's statement.
“There is not much left to sanction in Iran’s economy,” said one of the US officials. “Iran’s oil sales to China is the prize.”
Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi had tweeted that the Vienna talks must be put on pause until the new Iranian administration, in light of Iran's administrative transition period.
US & UK need to understand this and stop linking a humanitarian exchange—ready to be implemented—with the JCPOA.
— Seyed Abbas Araghchi (@araghchi) July 17, 2021
Keeping such an exchange hostage to political aims achieves neither.
TEN PRISONERS on all sides may be released TOMORROW if US&UK fulfill their part of deal. 2/2
Iran and China signed a 25-year strategic cooperation program in March. One of the many critical articles of the pact relates to China purchasing sizeable amounts of Iranian oil that the US considers a breach of its unilateral economic sanctions against Iran.
