Washington (CNN) -- President Barack Obama's Friday announcement that the U.S. will implement sanctions that could significantly cut sales of Iranian oil was not tied to a meeting the same day between Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Saudi King Abdullah, a senior administration official told CNN.Numerous U.S. officials have traveled recently to Saudi Arabia, the world's biggest oil exporter, to discuss the country's ability to increase exports enough to make up for the loss of Iranian oil under the sanctions, the official said. Analysts say nearly a million barrels a day could ultimately be lost from Iran.
But that the meeting and announcement came on the same day was "coincidental," the official said. Read More
