US not ready to lift Iran sanctions
White House spokesman Josh Earnest says Iran is making important progress toward curbing its nuclear program, but that its compliance with the nuclear deal hasn't been verified.
The White House says it's not ready to suspend economic sanctions against Iran because its compliance with the nuclear deal hasn't been verified.
White House spokesman Josh Earnest says Iran is making important progress toward curbing its nuclear program. He says it's possible the Islamic Republic has already completed all the necessary steps.
But Earnest says Iran won't get any sanctions relief until the International Atomic Energy Agency has independently verified that all steps have been completed. He says the US wants to make sure Iran doesn't "cut any corners."
He added that the IAEA report on Iran's compliance with the nuclear agreement is more than a technicality and there is ample reason to distrust Iran.
Earnest also said that the White House would not rule out sanctions on Iran over other issues such as ballistic missile testing, and that the US was still engaged in ongoing efforts to secure release of Americans held unjustly by Iran.
US officials earlier in the week had said that "implementation day" for the Iran nuclear deal could occur within days. Iran will receive billions of dollars in economic sanctions relief in exchange for scaling back its nuclear program.
But with the prospect of sanctions lifting, Tehran is expected to target India, Asia's fastest-growing major oil market, and old partners in Europe with hundreds of thousands of barrels of its crude.
A senior Iranian source close to supply negotiations said that the country - which has the world's fourth-biggest proven oil reserves - was targeting India as its main destination for crude.
"Indian crude demand is growing faster than other Asian countries. Like our competitors, we see this country as one of the main targets for Asian sales," said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity.
Iran's Mehr news agency quoted officials from the National Iranian Tanker Company (NITC) as saying on Friday that as soon as sanctions are lifted some 200,000-220,000 barrels per day would be exported to France, Britain, Italy, Spain and Germany.
Reuters and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
