Tehran, Iran, Nov.12
Trend:
Trump, facing crucial midterm elections said on Monday last week that he imposed sanctions on Iran's oil gradually, citing concerns about shocking markets and causing global price spikes.
"It's not clear if US announced the exemption due to concerns about the midterm elections, because they announced the 6-month waivers just a day before elections, therefore this assumption that market equilibrium was the reason for the exemptions is not true,” a member of Iran parliament's Energy Commission, Jalal Mirzaei, told trend.
The Donald Trump administration re-imposed midnight November 4 oil sanctions against Iran after pulling out in May from the nuclear agreement struck between the West and Tehran in 2015. However, the White House has granted waivers to eight countries to keep importing Iranian oil at reduced rates, reversing the previous strategy of targeting zero exports.
Winter season can affect the rise of demand for crude oil, while the Americans hoped that Saudi Arabia, Russia and small OPEC and non-OPEC countries would be able to compensate the shortage of Iranian oil on the market,” he said.
“In spite of claims by the UAE and Saudi Arabia that they could easily compensate for Iran's oil, experts have said that this did not happen," said Mirzaei.
"Saudi Arabia will need at least five years to compensate for Iran`s supply losses, and it needs a lot of investment,” he noted. "On the other hand Russians themselves are under sanctions and have no capacity for more oil production.”
“Of course, Americans know that if Iran fails to export oil, it's likely that the crisis in the region could be deepened," he added.
Referring to possibility of holding negotiations between Iran and Us after granting temporary Iran oil waivers to eight countries by US, he said that the Americans have left a door open to return and did not burn the bridges.
“In the world of politics there are possibilities of positive developments and if the US changes its approach and complies to its nuclear deal`s commitments, there will be a possibility of negotiations between Iran and the United States," he said.
Iran previously threatened to respond to US sanctions on its oil exports by closing the Strait of Hormuz, the strategic waterway linking Middle East Following the introduction of the second package of US sanctions on 5 November, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani vowed to continue selling oil despite the ‘illegal and unjust’ restrictions crude producers to crucial world markets.