Trump’s Iran Oil Sanctions Aren’t Living Up to the Hype
Exports are likely to go up just as the U.S. restrictions take effect.
Sailing on.
Photographer: Ali Mohammadi/BloombergU.S. sanctions designed to push Iran’s oil exports to zero come into force at midnight, but the hard line initially signaled by President Donald Trump is softening as the deadline approaches. With countries that have already cut their purchases to zero now being granted waivers to buy Iran’s oil, the country’s exports may well go up, not down, in November.
These were billed as the “strongest sanctions in history,” intended to prevent the Persian Gulf country from exporting any oil at all. But the reality hasn’t quite lived up to the hype: In the six months before they fully took effect, the impact of the Trump sanctions looks remarkably similar to those of his predecessor in 2012.