Washington, Jun 27 (IANS): The US State Department has been pushing countries to stop importing oil from Iran by November, an official said.

The Donald Trump administration has been pushing allies to stop oil imports from Iran by November 4, the senior US State Department official told reporters on Tuesday.

The official also said the US at present was "not granting waivers" to any country which was in business with Iran, Xinhua news agency reported.

When asked how related countries responded, the official said that there was "some kind of effect achieved".

Following Trump's decision to quit the historic Iran nuclear pact on May 8, the US vowed to re-impose sanctions lifted under the accord against Tehran and inflict punishments like secondary sanctions on nations that have business links with them.

Firms that were doing business in Iran were given up to 180 days to wind up investments. Otherwise, they risk huge fines.

Washington's withdrawal from the landmark Iran nuclear deal was widely criticised and some of its major European allies have been working to prevent the 2015 deal from falling apart.

A senior official from Iran's Foreign Ministry said on June 23 that European countries will soon offer a package to protect Iran's interests in accordance with the 2015 deal, official IRNA news agency reported.