US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced on Monday the names of the eight countries temporarily exempted by the United States from oil sanctions against Iran.
The exemption means that these eight countries will be allowed to continue to buy crude from Iran for only six months, after the sanctions imposed by Washington on Iran's energy sectors.
The countries exempted are China, India, Greece, Italy, Taiwan, Japan, Turkey and South Korea, who are senior customers of OPEC member Iran.
Pompeo said more than 20 countries had already cut their imports of Iranian oil, cutting Tehran's sales by more than 1 million bpd.
The US minister said his country would continue to press the Iranian regime "relentlessly" until it changes its "destabilizing" behavior in the Middle East.
US Treasury Secretary Stephen Menuchin told a joint news conference with Pompeo: "If they try to circumvent our sanctions, we will continue to take further action to stop their activity." The maximum pressure by the United States will increase as of now.
"Companies around the world must understand that we will strictly enforce sanctions."
Washington reiterated on Monday sanctions it had imposed under the 2015 agreement on Iran's nuclear program, which President Donald Trump withdrew from in May.
