The Europeans always held an inkling that sooner or later, a time would come when an impatient Washington would announce to the world that any country or entity buying or dealing with Iranian crude oil would be kicked out of the US financial system. The threat of US sanctions hung in the air like a Sword of Damocles, a warning to governments in Europe and Asia to tread lightly.
And, sure enough, the Trump administration’s patience has finally run. On April 22, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo walked up to the State Department podium and announced that Washington would no longer tolerate overseas purchases of Tehran’s crude. “Today I am announcing that we will no longer grant any exemptions,” Pompeo said. “We’re going to zero [imports] – going to zero across the board.”
While Europe may have anticipated this decision, the diktat from Washington wasn’t appreciated nor particularly understood.
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