US advises Pakistan of sanctions over Iran gas project

Washington DC: In response to a question about the Pak-Iran gas pipeline project, US State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said that he advises everyone that doing business with Iran may risk US sanctions.

In the press briefing, the spokesperson of the US State Department was asked about the Pak-Iran gas pipeline, to which he responded that he could not comment on any potential action and advised everyone doing business with Iran could risk US sanctions.

He said that everyone is advised to consider this before doing business with Iran. The assistant secretary made it clear that they do not support the development of this pipeline.

The spokesperson of the US State Department condemned the attack on the Chinese convoy, stating that we condemn the attack on the Chinese convoy in Pakistan.

“We express our heartfelt condolences to the victims of the attack, Pakistani people have suffered a lot at the hands of terrorists, Chinese citizens in Pakistan have been the target of terrorist attacks, ” added Matthew.

It is pertinent to note that on February 23, the caretaker Cabinet Energy Committee approved the laying of 81 km pipeline from the Iranian border to Gwadar.

It is reported that laying the pipeline will save Pakistan from paying $18 billion in fines and will get 750 million cubic feet of gas from Iran at a much cheaper price than Liquified Natural Gas (LNG).

The current government is in the process of preparing an exemption request against the US sanctions on the Pakistan-Iran gas pipeline project.

Reports suggest that the caretaker government had delayed its plan to file a petition against the US sanctions due to the geopolitical situation and the Ministerial Oversight Committee had taken decisions related to the Pak-Iran gas pipeline project.