The Trump administration is reviewing all existing sanctions waivers that provide any level of economic relief to the Iranian regime.
Tammy Bruce, spokesperson for the U.S. State Department, stated that the United States is reviewing all current sanctions waivers that provide any degree of economic opportunity to the Iranian regime.
On Thursday, March 6, during a press conference in Washington, Bruce made this announcement and urged the Iraqi government to end its dependence on Iranian energy sources as soon as possible.
She made this statement in response to a question about whether the United States would extend the sanctions waiver that allows Iraq to pay for imported electricity from Iran.
“We have nothing to announce with regard to the current electricity waiver that expires on the (March) eighth…We are reviewing all existing sanctions waivers that provide Iran any degree of economic or financial relief,” she said.
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“We are urging the Iraqi government to eliminate its dependence on Iranian sources of energy as soon as possible and welcome the Iraqi Prime Minister’s commitment to achieve energy independence.”
According to Reuters, citing two informed sources, the United States, while reviewing these waivers that permit the Iraqi government to import electricity from Iran, also intends to increase pressure on Baghdad to allow the export of crude oil from Iraq’s Kurdistan region through Turkey.
Washington seeks to increase Iraq’s oil production to strengthen global oil supply and control prices. This move would give the U.S. more leverage in its efforts to cut off Iran’s oil exports.
The United States aims to curb Iran’s oil exports as part of its efforts to restrain the regime’s nuclear program. Ali Khamenei, the leader of the Iranian regime, has previously stated that he will not negotiate with the U.S.
Negotiations between the Iraqi federal government and the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) over resuming oil exports have so far been challenging.
The U.S. government has stated that it intends to isolate the Iranian regime from the global economy and eliminate its oil revenues to slow down the development of nuclear weapons.
One of Donald Trump’s first actions after returning to the White House in late January was to reinstate the “maximum pressure” campaign against the Iranian regime.
The United States has imposed a series of sanctions on the Iranian regime due to its nuclear program and support for militant groups, effectively barring countries that trade with Iran from doing business with the U.S.
