The US announced Monday (April 22nd) it will no longer grant sanctions exemptions to Iran's oil customers, AFP reported.
The White House said Saudi Arabia and the UAE would work to make up the difference in oil to ensure that global markets are not rocked.
"This decision is intended to bring Iran's oil exports to zero, denying the regime its principal source of revenue," the White House said in a statement.
"The Trump administration and our allies are determined to sustain and expand the maximum economic pressure campaign against Iran to end the regime's destabilising activity threatening the US, our partners and allies and security in the Middle East," it said.
Eight governments — India, China, Turkey, Greece, Italy, Japan, South Korea and Taiwan —were initially given six-month reprieves from the US sanctions on Iran.
US officials say they are aimed at choking off Iranian revenue so as to reduce the Iranian regime's regional clout, notably its support for militant groups such as Lebanon's Hizbullah.
