Japanese and South Korean refiners have so far resisted loading Iranian oil for January despite US waivers allowing them to restart the trades amid a lack of clarity over rules for shipping insurance. Receive daily email alerts, subscriber notes & personalize your experience. Register Now Both countries suspended imports from Iran before US sanctions snapped back November 5. If they do not load January barrels, that would leave them only about two months to load Iranian crude to ensure that any imports are delivered before their 180-day sanctions waivers from the US State Department expire May 4. Washington expects importers in eight countries with “significant reduction exemptions” to complete all Iranian oil transactions before May 5, according to a US government official who spoke on condition of anonymity. The official declined to say whether the US would consider additional exemptions covering May-November 2019. “If someone takes delivery […]