US likely to extend exemption from Iran sanctions: Gov’t sources

The United States is likely to announce extended waivers to at least seven countries over Washington’s unilateral sanctions on Iran’s oil sector, two government sources say.

The waivers will grant exemptions from sanctions on Iran to at least seven expected countries, including China, India, South Korea, Singapore and Turkey, for another six months.

The 180-day exemptions are issued by the US State Department and are expected to be announced on Friday.

The move follows a similar action in September, in which the US exempted eleven countries from the sanctions for another 180 days.

The US has imposed illegal unilateral sanctions against the Islamic Republic over the false allegation that Iran pursues non-civilian objectives in its nuclear energy program.

The financial sanctions which target the Iranian crude oil sector penalize other countries for buying or selling Iranian crude oil.

Under a US law that came into effect late last year, the government can exempt countries from sanctions if they significantly cut crude imports from Iran.

Iran refutes the allegations over its nuclear energy program and argues that as a signatory to the Non-Proliferation Treaty and a member of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), it is entitled to develop and acquire nuclear technology for peaceful purposes.

In addition, the IAEA has conducted numerous inspections of Iran’s nuclear facilities but has never found any evidence showing that Tehran’s civilian nuclear program has been diverted toward military objectives.