South Korea Seeks Extension of U.S. Oil Sanctions Exemption Against Iran

Reuters reports that South Korean officials are expected to request an extension of the U.S. exemption from oil sanctions against Iran during their visit to Washington this week, where they will meet with American officials. The deadline for this exemption from U.S. oil sanctions against Iran expires on May 3. The South Korean government announced on Monday, March 25, that Yun Kang-hyun, the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs for Economic Affairs, along with other officials, will meet with U.S. State Department officials on Wednesday and Thursday to negotiate the exemption from oil sanctions that was issued in November, conditional on reducing oil purchases from Iran. According to Reuters, the U.S. aims to reduce Iranian oil exports to below one million barrels. President Donald Trump, who is critical of the nuclear deal with Iran (JCPOA) with six world powers, withdrew from this agreement on May 8 last year, citing "violations of the spirit of the agreement," ballistic missile activities, and Tehran's negative role in the Middle East. After exiting the JCPOA, the U.S. reinstated all suspended sanctions under this agreement, including oil sanctions. However, the U.S. granted an initial six-month exemption to eight countries—China, India, South Korea, Japan, Taiwan, Turkey, Italy, and Greece—to reduce their oil purchases from Iran to zero, which ends on May 3. A source informed Reuters earlier this month that the U.S. aims to reduce the number of exemptions from Iranian oil sanctions, thereby causing a further 20% reduction in Iranian oil exports and bringing the country's exports below one million barrels. According to Reuters, South Korean officials will meet in Washington with Francis Fannon, the U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for Energy, and David Peyman, the U.S. State Department's Director of Financial and Economic Sanctions. An unnamed U.S. State Department official confirmed that South Korean officials will meet with David Peyman. Mr. Peyman had met with South Korean officials in Asia earlier this month. At that time, the South Korean government stated that this U.S. official had called for continued consultations between Seoul and Washington regarding the extension of oil sanctions and trade with Iran. Reuters notes that South Korea, the fourth-largest Asian buyer of Iranian oil, purchases a type of light oil from Iran and has previously stated that it is unlikely to find a substitute for oil of this quality. According to the report, South Korea's oil purchases from Iran have decreased by 12.5% over the past year leading up to February.