With sanctions returning, Trump open to Iran pact

The US is open to a “new, more comprehensive deal” with Iran, President Donald Trump has said before the final round of sanctions go into effect from Monday, hitting its crude oil exports, shipping, ports and its financial system.

The new deal that the US is offering blocks forever Iran’s path to nuclear weapons, enjoins upon it to give up its ballistic missiles programme and end “malign activities” in the region.

“We call on the regime to abandon its nuclear ambitions, change its destructive behaviour, respect the rights of its people, and return in good faith to the negotiating table,” Trump said in a statement, adding the US “remains open to reaching a new, more comprehensive deal”.

Trump had pulled the United States out of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action in May, calling it the worst deal in history. On Friday, he called it “horrible, one-sided “and “disastrous”. On Monday, the US withdrawal from that deal will be complete, with sanctions back in place.

As a major buyer of Iranian crude, India has been negotiations with the US for exemption from secondary impact from the sanctions as it reduces its orders. It has also sought relief from curbs on Chabahar port in Iran which it has helped develop and uses as a gateway to Afghanistan and Central Asia.

The US announced on Friday it had agreed to grant waivers to eight countries that, it said, had started reducing their purchases. The list will be announced on Monday, when the full sanctions take effect, along with other details such as entities and individuals to be sanctioned. India is on the list, US officials have indicated. But it will be under pressure to buy less from Iran.