The United States has proposed temporarily waiving off sanctions on Iranian oil, as per reports by Tehran's Tasnim news agency on Monday.
To ramp up its pressure on Iran from the economic front, Washington had introduced restrictions on trade of Iranian oil. While primary sanctions included barring American companies from trading in Iranian oil, secondary sanction threaten to penalise non-American entities, banks, and foreign governments that purchase Iranian petroleum.
After the reports surfaced, global markets rebounded with the European STOXX 600 rising 0.2% to intra-day high and Nasdaq 100 futures paring massive losses.
In his recent 2-day visit to China for a much anticipated high-stakes meeting, US President could not convince Chinese leader Xi Jin Ping to halt purchase of Iranian oil.
Seperately, during US President's Donald Trump's much anticipated, high-stakes summit with Chinese leader Xi Jinping, there was no clear breakthrough between the two countries regarding the Iran war, besides Trump claiming that him and Xi were largely on the same page about the conflict.
Trump did not succeed in convincing Beijing to halt their purchase of Iranian oil. According to Trump, China agreed not to supply Iran with military equipment but said that it will continue buying their oil.
On Friday, the republican President had even said that he is considering lifting sanctions on Chinese companies that buy Iranian oil as per reports.
Earlier in the day oil prices had surged after Trump remarked that "the clock is ticking" and warned that Iran “better get moving” over the weekend. The remarks came amid a impasse in truce talks.
However, they eased marginally with Brent crude trading 0.23% lower at $109 levels and the West Texas Intermediate trading 0.9% down at $100.27.
Reports suggest Trump has been consulting with his national security team and allies, including Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, on potential next steps, including possible military options if talks fail.
Despite its public stance, sources indicated Iran may be showing some flexibility, with a possible willingness to accept a shorter suspension period of three to five years.
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