EU regrets US move to end waivers on Iran oil imports

By Ata Ufuk Seker

BRUSSELS (AA) - The European Union on Tuesday regretted the U.S. move to end sanctions waivers on Iran oil imports.

Speaking at a media briefing, Maja Kocijancic, the EU Foreign Affairs and Security Policy spokeswoman said, the EU will continue to implement the nuclear agreement.

Last November, U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration re-imposed sanctions on Iranian oil exports after Washington pulled out of the 2015 Iran nuclear deal including five other countries.

The administration then announced it would give 180-day waivers, called Significant Reduction Exceptions (SREs), to eight countries -- Turkey, China, Greece, India, Italy, Japan, South Korea and Taiwan -- to help them wean off their supply of Iranian oil.

On Monday, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said the SRE waivers would end on May 2, a year after Trump unilaterally left the nuclear deal.

* Writing by Busra Nur Bilgic