US President Donald Trump has decided that five major countries including India will no longer be exempt from penalties if they continue to import Iranian oil, the White House said on Monday.

It announced that sanctions waivers for China, India, Japan, South Korea and Turkey would not be renewed when they expire on May 2. The decision was intended to deny Iran its principal source of revenue.

In November, the US reimposed sanctions on exports of Iranian oil after Trump withdrew from a 2015 nuclear accord between Iran and six world powers.

Washington, however, granted Iran's eight main buyers of oil waivers to the sanctions that allowed them limited purchases for six months. These countries were India, China, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, Turkey, Italy and Greece.

The sanctions have led to a sharp downturn in Iran's economy, pushing the value of its currency to record lows, quadrupling its annual inflation rate, driving away foreign investors and triggering protests.

--IANS

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