March 21 (Reuters) – The U.S. State Department this week
said 12 countries that buy Iranian oil could eventually be
subject to U.S. sanctions unless they cut shipments of the crude
but did not name which nations those were.
The department released the number on Tuesday after saying
the United States would grant exemptions to the sanctions to
Japan and 10 countries in the European Union that have cut
shipments of Iranian oil.
Countries that got the six-month exemptions have been given
a reprieve from the threat of being cut off from the U.S.
financial system under the sanctions designed to pressure Iran
over its nuclear program, which the West suspects is intended to
produce weapons.
A government source, who is not in the State Department,
gave Reuters a list of 13 countries that did not get an
exemption on Tuesday. The 13 have received at least one cargo of
Iranian crude from early 2011 to early 2012. The source did not
explain why there were 13 countries listed as buyers – one more
than the number of countries the State Department said could
eventually be subject to sanctions.
Below is a list of 13 countries which includes China and
India, the top two importers of Iran’s crude, and South Korea,
the fourth top buyer.
Country: Rank in top 10 buyers of Iran crude
China 1
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