Witkoff: Lifting oil sanctions is a positive message to China and Iran
Steve Witkoff, Donald Trump’s special representative for Middle East affairs, said in an interview with CNBC that lifting oil sanctions is a message to Tehran and Beijing.
In response to the question of why the U.S. government lifted some of the sanctions against Iran on Wednesday, June 24, to allow crude oil exports to China, Witkoff said, ‘In my view, this was a message from the President. He has an uncanny ability to understand the public’s general sentiment on various issues.’
Trump’s special representative for Middle East affairs emphasized that this action was a message to the Chinese, indicating that we want to cooperate with you, and he hopes that this action will also somehow be a message to the Iranians.
Donald Trump, the President of the United States, announced on Wednesday on the sidelines of the NATO summit that he will not stop Iran’s oil exports.
Trump stressed that the maximum pressure policy against the Islamic Republic has not ended, but currently the priority is rebuilding Iran after the recent war. He said, ‘We do not want to take control of the oil. If they are going to sell oil, they will sell oil.’