Washington's sanctions exemptions for major importers of Iranian oil expire on Thursday.
Late last month, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced there won't be any extensions of sanctions waivers for eight main buyers,... including South Korea and Japan.
Washington's toughest ever sanctions on Tehran come after the U.S. withdrew from the 2015 nuclear deal with Iran in May last year, with President Trump saying the agreement "had not stopped Iran from developing its nuclear and missile programs."
This is likely to take a toll on South Korea's petrochemical industry,... as Korea imports 80-percent of its condensate, or ultralight oil from Iran and Qatar.