John Bolton: Washington does ‘not want to harm friends and allies’ with Iran sanctions

Addressing harsh sanctions soon to be re-imposed on Iran’s energy sector, National Security Adviser John R. Bolton said Washington seeks to strain the Islamic Republic’s ability to export crude oil — but not harm countries that depend on it.

“We want to achieve maximum pressure but we don’t want to harm friends and allies either,” Mr. Bolton said on Wednesday at the Hamilton Society in Washington.

Since May, when President Trump withdrew the U.S. from the multilateral deal endorsed by the Obama administration that eased global sanctions in exchange for curbs on Iran’s suspect nuclear programs — his administration has worked to drive down Tehran’s oil exports to zero.

Iran is the third-largest producer in the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC). Additional sanctions that kick in Nov. 4 directly target countries that buy oil from it by blocking them from access to U.S. markets and financial institutions.

This has set off a scramble by some of Iran’s biggest energy buyers, including China and U.S. allies such as India, Turkey and South Korea, to either get around the sanctions or make up the shortfall elsewhere.

Many have also requested a waiver from the White House to allow them to ease off Iranian crude slowly, with administration officials on record that Mr. Trump could consider the issue on a case-by-case basis.

While Mr. Bolton did not address waivers directly on Wednesday, he did say the the administration appreciates that several countries “may not be able to go all the way, all the way to zero immediately.”

Observers noted the more conciliatory tone from Mr. Bolton, who is considered one of Washington’s most prominent Iran hawks.