Market can cope with push for zero Iranian oil sales, says US envoy
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PARIS - The United States still aims to cut Iran's oil sales to zero and does not expect restored oil sanctions against Tehran to have a negative impact on a market that is well-supplied and balanced, a senior US official said on Monday.
US special envoy for Iran, Brian Hook, was talking to reporters after a visit to India, a major importer of Iranian oil, and talks with officials from France, Britain and Germany before the start of a new round of US sanctions on Nov. 4.
The three European countries have been trying to save the 2015 nuclear deal between Tehran and multiple global powers since US President Trump announced in May that the United States would withdraw from the pact.
In a conference call from Luxembourg, where Hook was meeting European officials, he said that Iran uses oil revenue to support and fund terrorist proxies throughout the Middle East and that the US goal is for countries to cut Iranian oil imports to zero as quickly as possible.
Hook declined to answer questions on possible waivers on sanctions for countries that are reducing their imports but said the US is confident that energy markets will remain stable.
"We are seeing a well-supplied and balanced oil market right now. We should focus on these fundamentals and not be distracted by the emotional and unbalanced claims coming from Tehran."
