Above: Kharg Island oil terminal where 90% of Iran's crude oil exports are processed (photo: Kaveh Kazemi)
According to Fars News Agency (05JUN14):
White House officials said US President Barack Obama has ordered another 6-month pause in efforts to further decrease Iran's crude sales, although the previous embargoes which seek to keep the country's crude exports at a million barrels per day are kept in place.
"The United States has committed to pause efforts to further reduce Iran’s crude oil sales for a six month period under the Joint Plan of Action between the Group 5+1 (the five permanent UN Security Council members plus Germany) and Iran,” White House Press Secretary Jay Carney announced on Thursday.
While the last US ban on Iranian oil supplies sought to stop the country's crude exports at 1mln bpd, both Iranian and foreign sources have confirmed that Tehran is now exporting 1.5 to 1.8mln bpd of oil, depending on buyers' monthly needs.
The White House press secretary noted that the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has verified that Iran is complying with its commitments under the interim Geneva deal reached on November 20, 2013.This is good news for the Rouhani administration as it faces political elements that are highly skeptical a nuclear deal can be reached with the West that fully secures Iran's nuclear rights as a signatory to the NPT.
Earlier this week, during a speech by Supreme Leader of Iran Ayatollah Khamenei marking the occasion of the 25th anniversary of the passing of Ayatollah Khomeini, leaflets were handed out by conservative critics of President Hassan Rouhani, objecting to his nuclear policies.
“What did we give — and what did we get?” the pamphlets read, complaining that Mr. Rouhani had suspended parts of Iran’s uranium enrichment program in the nuclear talks but was not fully compensated with reciprocal moves easing economic sanctions. [source: New York Times]
4 comments:
Strong independent Iran
US should immediately remove all sanctions, establish diplomatic ties with Iran, ease visa requirements for Iranians especially students and businessmen, provide Iran with hundreds of modern civilian jets, establish direct flights from US to Iran and remove any restriction on IT technology transfer to Iran.
The best way of changing a country is to increase the interaction, not to isolate it, especially as Iranians are very much looking to the West right now and are interested in establishing cultural, economic, academic and financial ties.
The current slow moving policy is not good and will not create the necessary momentum for making bold moves.
Regime needs to vanish.
the US is not going to remove all sanctions unless Iran goes ahead and make all those bold moves.
the US doesn't need to supply any "momentum" for Iran's government to change policies, Iran's people are going to have to get their government to change.
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