Reports of Iran oil talks raise concerns

United States says any deal could trigger more economic sanctions

The White House said on Monday it was concerned about a recent report that Iran and Russia are negotiating an oil-for-goods swap worth $1.5 billion a month, a deal a spokeswoman said could trigger US sanctions.

Such a deal would significantly boost Iran's oil exports, which have been slashed by more than half to about 1 million barrels a day by US and European economic sanctions aimed at forcing Iran to accept curbs to its nuclear program.

Russian and Iranian sources close to the negotiations said the deal could see Russia buy as much as 500,000 barrels a day of Iranian oil in exchange for Russian equipment and goods.

"We are concerned about these reports and Secretary (of State John) Kerry directly expressed this concern with (Russian) Foreign Minister (Sergei) Lavrov today," said Caitlin Hayden, spokeswoman for the White House National Security Council.

Iran agreed on Sunday to limit its enrichment of uranium and allow more international monitoring for six months in exchange for about $7 billion in sanctions relief.

The agreement with the P5+1 group of major world powers includes a pause on efforts to further reduce Iran's exports of crude oil - although it does not allow major buyers to increase their imports.

Russia is part of the P5+1 group, but has not been part of the sanctions efforts, led by the United States and Europe.

"If the reports are true, such a deal would raise serious concerns as it would be inconsistent with the terms of the P5+1 agreement with Iran and could potentially trigger US sanctions," Hayden said.

Iran and the P5+1 group will likely begin talks on a long-term nuclear deal in February - talks that both Iran and the US have said will be difficult.

On Tuesday, the International Atomic Energy Agency said a planned meeting with Iran next week to discuss steps meant to help allay concern over its nuclear program had been postponed to Feb 8, without giving a reason.

Sanctions architecture

Meanwhile, US Vice-President Joe Biden assured Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday that the US is committed to enforcing its "sanctions architecture" against Iran even as world powers provide it with some relief in pursuit of a final nuclear deal.

In four hours of wide-ranging talks during Biden's visit to Israel for the funeral of former prime minister Ariel Sharon, the vice-president briefed Netanyahu on an interim agreement to curb Iran's nuclear program and sought his views on efforts to reach a broader accord, a senior US official said.

Netanyahu has been at odds with the Obama administration over its diplomatic engagement with Iran, and Washington has tried to ease Israeli concerns that Teheran is getting too much in return for too few concessions.

"It is safe to say that the issue of ensuring the continued enforcement of the sanctions architecture is an important priority for us, is an important priority for Israel and was a subject of conversation," the official said.

Some US officials have cited oil and banking as the core architecture of the sanctions program that has crippled Iran's economy. Relief under the initial deal would include suspension of some restrictions on trade in gold, precious metals and petrochemicals, and in the auto industry. It also allows third-country purchases of Iranian oil to remain at current levels.

Echoing Obama, Biden also made clear to Netanyahu that Washington opposes a US congressional push for new sanctions during talks on a long-term deal with Iran, the official said.

(China Daily 01/15/2014 page12)