Here are some more details about the US decision to remove oil sanctions on Iran, once both sides sign their much-hyped interim “peace deal” on Friday.
The provision for waiving sanctions on Iranian oil sales takes effect once the agreement is signed this week and also covers services including banking, transportation and insurance to facilitate the sales.
“This is a performance-based agreement,” the official said on condition of anonymity.
“Iran can only access any benefits of the MOU [memorandum of understand] if they abide by all of the points they agreed to – including no nuclear weapon, neutralizing its enriched material, and not interfering with the free flow of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz.”
Brett Erickson, a sanctions expert and managing principal at Obsidian Risk Advisors, called the move a “multibillion-dollar concession to Iran.”
“After months of blockade pressures, Washington has chosen to provide Tehran with an irreversible financial benefit,” he said.
Mr Erickson said Iran has more than 100 million barrels of oil in storage and on tankers that could be easily sold, with more than 60 million barrels of that outside the US blockade.
The world uses about 100 million barrels of oil a day.