The administration of President Donald Trump is contemplating waivers on sanctions it plans to re-impose next month for countries that are cutting their oil imports from Iran, a US government official says.
Trump pulled the US out of a 2015 nuclear agreement with Iran – the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) – and re-imposed the first wave of sanctions on August 6 which include a universal ban on Iran’s access to the US dollar, as well as prohibitions against the country’s trade in gold and other precious metals, among other restrictions.
The second wave of sanctions that would hit on November 4 would aim to bring Iran’s oil exports to zero as claimed by US officials.
On Friday, a government official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said the administration was “in the midst of an internal process” of considering exceptions called SRE waivers, or significant reduction exemptions.
This comes after Secretary of State…