Saudi Arabia and Iran reignite the oil price war

The US hasn't been able to persuade Iran's biggest oil customer China to reduce oil purchases, but Beijing has reportedly agreed not to increase its oil imports from Iran.

Other relatively large Asian buyers of Iranian oil—South Korea and Japan—are looking for US guidance and (possibly) waivers before deciding how to proceed, but they are currently very cautious and on the lookout for alternative supplies.

Analysts, and reportedly the US Administration itself, currently expect the sanctions to remove around 1 million bpd from the oil market.

Considering the intensity of efforts by the US to cut off as much Iranian oil exports as possible, it is unlikely that even Iran's significant discounts to Asian customers will save the country's oil exports.