Iran has managed to export some liquefied petroleum gas and jet fuel since July, despite a US naval blockade, shipping intelligence showed, and people involved in security said. Tehran has in recent weeks been concealing such cargoes among a growing volume of ship-to-ship transfers by other Gulf producers off Oman, four people in maritime security who track Gulf oil movements told Reuters. The Iranian exports and methodology are reported for the first time here. While a fraction of its former energy exports, the cargoes are rare evidence of petroleum products getting through a blockade that has halted Iran's crude exports. Analysis by US advocacy group United Against Nuclear Iran (UANI), which monitors Iran-related tanker traffic using ship and satellite tracking, shows at least eight gas tankers carrying Iranian LPG have left the Gulf of Oman since mid-July. Another tanker carrying Iranian jet fuel reached Myanmar in September, additional satellite imagery and analy...
Hurricane Trudy rapidly intensified into a major hurricane on Friday morning, carrying maximum sustained winds near 120 mph (195 kph) and higher gusts, as it moves closer to Mexico's Pacific coast. Additional strengthening is still forecast before Trudy is expected to approach the Mexican coast on Saturday as a life-threatening major hurricane, the US-based National Hurricane Centre said. "Trudy has the potential to even reach Category 4 or 5 intensity," said Alex DaSilva, a hurricane meteorologist at private forecaster AccuWeather. Mexico's civil protection agency asked residents to start preparations for the storm's arrival by securing doors and windows, and removing objects that could be thrown around by the strong winds. Read: Little damage as Hurricane Polo sweeps over Mexico's Pacific coast The hurricane will strike Mexico's Pacific coast, a region that has already been battered in recent weeks by storms that left severa...