US: China not exempt from Iran-related sanctions

The US said on Monday that seven countries which it judged to have “significantly reduced” oil purchases from Iran would be exempted from sanction measures but left China off the list, The New York Times reported. Officials from the Obama administration said they are continuing negotiations with China, the biggest importer of Iranian oil. China’s purchases of Iranian oil fell by around one-third in the first quarter of this year, but purchases rebounded in April and continue to surge, suggesting that the previous slowdown was simply a negotiating tactic for better prices. “We’ve been able to work through sanctions-related issues with China is the past, and our hope is that we’ll be able to do the same with China over the next few weeks,” said a senior official from the Obama administration who spoke on condition of anonymity.