Israel's Netanyahu praises Trump move to end waivers on Iran oil

JERUSALEM: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu praised a White House announcement on Monday ending sanctions exemptions for Iran's oil customers, calling it "of great importance" in boosting pressure on Tehran.

"The decision by President (Donald) Trump and the United States administration is of great importance to increase the pressure on the Iranian terrorist regime," Netanyahu said in a statement.

"We stand by the determination of the US against Iranian aggression and this is the right way to stop it," he said.

Iran is Israel's main enemy, and Netanyahu has been in full support of the Trump administration's aggressive stance against Tehran.

The White House said its intention was to "bring Iran's oil exports to zero" with its latest move.

Trump last year withdrew the United States from a multilateral 2015 accord negotiated by his predecessor, Barack Obama, under which Iran drastically scaled back its nuclear program in return for promises of sanctions relief.

The Trump administration, backed by Saudi Arabia and Israel, has instead unilaterally imposed sanctions and demanded that other countries follow suit.

Eight governments were initially given six-month reprieves from the unilateral US sanctions on Iran.