WASHINGTON �� Secretary of State Michael Pompeo Sunday defended the temporary waivers granted to eight countries to continue buying Iranian crude oil for now against critics who say the U.S. is being too lenient on the Islamic Republic.
U.S. sanctions on Iran's energy and shipping are due to resume Monday after President Donald Trump's decision to withdraw from the 2015 multilateral nuclear agreement.
Pompeo, on "Fox News Sunday," wouldn't say if India and China are receiving waivers. Bloomberg reported Nov. 2 that India, Japan and South Korea are among those approved, and that China is discussing terms but is among the eight, according to two people familiar with the discussions.
The waivers are aimed at countries that "need a little bit more time" to get their oil purchases from Iran down to zero, Pompeo said, a comment consistent with one Friday, when he said waivers were being given to importers who've made "important moves" toward shunning Iranian oil.
The pressure group United Against Nuclear Iran, which is led in part by former Sen. Joe Lieberman, I-Conn., objected to the waivers Friday, saying on Twitter that the administration had "caved."
On Friday, Trump said in a White House statement that the U.S. remains open to a "new, more comprehensive deal" with Iran that block its nuclear weapons program, saying it faced a choice between "its destructive behavior" or "economic disaster."
The administration's strategy is to punish Iran so severely that it's compelled to negotiate a permanent end to its nuclear ambitions, and what the U.S. calls its "malign behavior" in the Middle East. In granting waivers, Washington is trying to ensure that global oil prices don't go up.
