UPDATE - Turkey slams US move to end waivers on Iran oil imports

UPDATES WITH BACKGROUND

By Ali Murat Alhas

ANKARA (AA) - Turkish foreign minister on Monday said the U.S. move to end sanctions waivers on Iran oil imports would not contribute to the regional peace and stability.

"The US decision to end sanctions waivers on Iran oil imports will not serve regional peace and stability, yet will harm Iranian people," Mevlut Cavusoglu said in a Twitter post.

"Turkey rejects unilateral sanctions and impositions on how to conduct relations with neighbors," Cavusoglu added.

Earlier, the U.S. announced that it would end sanctions waivers on eight countries -- Turkey, China, Greece, India, Italy, Japan, South Korea and Taiwan -- importing oil from Iran.

U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration reimposed sanctions on Iranian oil exports in November after Washington pulled out of the 2015 Iran Nuclear deal between Tehran, Washington, and five other countries.

The administration then announced it would give 180-day waivers, called Significant Reduction Exceptions (SREs), to eight countries to help them wean off their supply of Iranian oil.

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