TEHRAN – A senior political analyst believes that the U.S. move to end exemptions to sanctions on Iran’s oil exports is a human rights violation which can be pursued by the Islamic Republic through international channels.

It came days after U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said the United States is not extending any waivers exempting importers of Iranian oil from U.S. sanctions and there will be no grace period for those economies to comply.

In an interview with ISNA published on Saturday, Davoud Hermidas-Bavand, professor of political science and international law, said the U.S. move would probably lead to devaluation of Iran’s currency and higher inflation rates.

He said many countries will abide by U.S. sanctions out of fear, which makes it harder for Iran to circumvent the sanctions.

Hermidas-Bavand also predicted that the price of oil will go up due to the domestic problems of some countries, including Venezuela and Libya.

However, the Americans tried to make Saudi Arabia and the UAE to increase their oil production to fill any supply gap caused by the sanctions on Iran, he added.

The political analyst also said the other countries only pay lip service to the sanctions and are not willing to stand up to the U.S.

MH/PA