US considering new sanctions on Iranian oil sales to China: WSJ

The sanctions may go into effect if Iran does not agree to a nuclear deal, US officials told The Wall Street Journal.

The United States is weighing new sanctions on Iran’s oil sales to China as a way to pressure Tehran to commit to a nuclear deal, sources familiar with the matter told The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) on Monday. US negotiators continue to work with European and international partners in Vienna, Austria in an attempt to revive the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) – the 2015 agreement that curbs Iran’s nuclear programme in exchange for the lifting of some of the sanctions Tehran faces. But as those negotiations stall, the US is mulling alternative options to encourage Iran to stay at the negotiating table or up the cost of leaving it, US officials and people familiar with the matter told the WSJ.