Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said that unlike Obama's 2013 Iran blockade, it would be harder for countries to get waivers on Iran oil sanctions as the US is already working on disconnecting Iran from the SWIFT network and dismissed concerns that oil prices could rise, saying the market had already factored in the output losses.
Speaking in an interview with Reuters in Jerusalem on Sunday at the start of a Middle East trip, Mnuchin said countries would have to reduce their purchases of Iranian oil by more than the roughly 20% level they did from 2013 to 2015 to get waivers. "I would expect that if we do give waivers it will be significantly larger reductions," said the US Treasury Secretary.
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Update: US Treasury in Talks Over Disconnecting Iran From SWIFT Amid Sanctions (Sputnik).
WNU Editor: The Trump administration's decision to push for the disconnection of Iran from SWIFT is big news. It will cripple Iran's banking networks from doing international business .... nothing less and nothing more. This move also confirms fears that the Trump administration has made the decision to weaponize the dollar, and will now use the reserve currency as a global bargaining chip in getting its way on issues like Iran. Here is an easy prediction. There is going to be blow-back from every major country in the world on this U.S. decision.