US ‘doesn’t want to harm allies with Iran sanctions’

Considering waivers for some allies that rely on Iranian supplies

US national security adviser John Bolton said on Wednesday the Trump administration wants sanctions on Iran’s crude exports to strain Tehran, but does not want to harm countries that depend on the oil.

The United States is preparing to impose the new sanctions on Iran’s oil industry after Washington withdrew from a nuclear deal between Tehran and other global powers earlier this year, but is also considering offering waivers to some allies that rely on Iranian supplies. “We want to achieve maximum pressure but we don’t want to harm friends and allies either,” Bolton said in a talk at the Hamilton Society.

Bolton said the administration understands that a number of countries “may not be able to go all the way, all the way to zero immediately.”

China, India and Turkey have resisted US calls to end their oil purchases outright.