Washington — The US wants to avoid disrupting global oil markets as it reimposes sanctions against Tehran, and in certain cases will consider waivers for countries that need more time to wind down their oil imports from Iran, US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said. "We want people to reduce oil purchases to zero, but in certain cases if people can’t do that overnight, we’ll consider exceptions," Mnuchin said on Friday, clarifying some US officials’ comments that there would be no exemptions. Mnuchin was talking en route from Mexico where he was part of a high-level US delegation led by Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to meet Mexico’s next president, Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador. The Trump administration is pushing countries to cut all imports of Iranian oil from November when the US reimposes sanctions against Tehran, after Trump withdrew from the 2015 nuclear deal agreed between Iran and six major powers, against the advice of allies in Europe and elsewhere.
Mnuchin said he ...
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