US sanctions enforcers on Tuesday revoked an authorization allowing purchases of Iranian crude and refined products, as the US-Iran interim deal signed last month begins to fracture.
The US will not allow purchases of Iranian crude, oil products and petrochemicals effective immediately, according to a license issued Tuesday by the Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC). Buyers that contracted for Iranian oil since OFAC allowed such sales on 22 June will have until 17 July to wind down Iran-related transactions.
All funds due to be paid to Tehran will have to be deposited in escrow accounts, according to the terms of the updated OFAC license.
The license replaces the authorization issued last month, which was due to expire on 21 August.
The US and Iran signed an interim deal on 18 June promising to refrain from force and to fully reopen the strait of Hormuz, but the countries' militaries have subsequently clashed intermittently over Tehran's continued assertion of control over the critical Mideast Gulf waterway.
Iran's forces on Monday resumed indiscriminate attacks against vessels attempting passage through Hormuz via a route skirting Oman's coast.
