Trump’s Iran strategy collides with oil market realities

The Trump administration must decide by May 2 whether to allow Iran to continue exporting crude oil a decision with huge implications for Washington’s Iran strategy and the oil market. The big picture: Since withdrawing from the nuclear deal last May, the U.S. has steadily ratcheted up economic and political pressure on Iran. The core component of the Trump administration’s “maximum pressure” strategy is reducing the Islamic Republic's oil exports, which provide provide a third of government revenues. Background: U.S. sanctions require all purchasers of Iranian oil to “significantly reduce” their oil purchases every six months, with a stated goal of driving Iranian exports to zero. But in November the administration granted waivers that allow eight countries to continue importing Iranian crude: China, India, Turkey, South Korea, Japan, Taiwan, Greece and Italy.