Official: U.S. pressing allies to end Iran oil imports

The U.S. is pressing allies to end all imports of Iranian oil by a Nov. 4 deadline and doesn’t want to offer any extensions or waivers as it follows through on President Donald Trump’s decision to quit the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, a State Department official said.

Oil prices surged more than 2.5 percent in New York as traders digested the prospect of a much larger than expected loss of Iranian supply this winter. U.S. benchmark West Texas Intermediate surged to $70 a barrel, while Brent, the European crude benchmark, climbed to $76.

In a briefing Tuesday, the State Department official said that while the administration wouldn’t rule out waivers or extensions to the November deadline — which Trump announced when he withdrew from the Iran deal in May — it isn’t discussing them, either. Because U.S. allies from Asia to Europe have closer commercial ties to Iran than does America, many analysts expected some flexibility from Washington through waivers.

When Trump announced the U.S. was quitting the nuclear accord, he warned that other nations would face sanctions unless they stopped trading with the Iran. The 2015 agreement called for Iran to curb its nuclear program in return for the easing of sanctions, with the U.S., the U.K., France, Germany, China and Russia.

The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the U.S. was planning conversations with the governments of Turkey, India and China, all of which import Iranian oil, about finding other supplies. The official said an important part of those discussions was making sure countries aren’t “adversely affected” by cutting Iranian oil imports.

Iran had seen rising prices and a weakening of its currency, the rial, even before Trump’s withdrawal decision, which was opposed by European allies as