US exempts 11 nations from sanctions over Iran; not India and China

The US State Department has announced that it may consider imposing sanctions on nations like China, India and South Korea that have continued to trade with Iran
WASHINGTON - The United States has not included India and China in a list of 11 nations that would be spared financial sanctions as they have significantly cut purchases of crude oil from Tehran.

The exempted countries are Japan and ten European nations - Belgium, the Czech Republic, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, Spain, and the United Kingdom, according to a State Department statement.

This means that banks in these 11 countries get a six-month reprieve from the threat of being cut off from the U.S. financial system under sanctions aimed to pressure Iran over its nuclear programme.

"The actions taken by these countries were not easy," Secretary of State Hillary Clinton told the US Congress Tuesday.

"They had to rethink their energy needs at a critical time for the world economy and quickly begin to find alternatives to Iranian oil, which many had been reliant on for their energy needs," she said.

"The United States is leading an unprecedented international coalition of partners that has brought to bear significant pressure on the Iranian regime to change its course," Clinton said.

Besides Iran's top customers India, China, and South Korea, which do not figure on the list, nine other major importers of Iranian oil could face sanctions.

A State Department official said the US is in talks with India, China, and South Korea on the issue.

"We look very much forward to hearing what kinds of messages those countries are able and willing to bring to us and to continue to pursue them in a serious and professional conversation," the official said.

Japan has reduced its oil purchases from Iran by 15 per cent to 22 per cent in the last half of 2011, the official said.

South Korea is to hold another round of talks soon with the US on cutting its imports from Iran.

All 27 EU nations agreed to ban new imports from Jan 23 and to phase out existing contracts by July 1.