Skip to main content

Iran ships some LPG, jet fuel despite US blockade, data shows

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...
Post a Comment

US and Iran negotiators head to Doha, but meeting uncertain

Iranian and US negotiating ​teams were due in Doha this week, but Iran said on Monday no meeting had been scheduled as weekend missile fire from both sides tested the interim ceasefire ‌to end the four-month-old war. Trump is sending his son-in-law Jared Kushner and his envoy Steve Witkoff to lead the negotiating team, according to his press secretary Karoline Leavitt. While Iran is sending its technical delegation to Qatar this week, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei said this had "no relation" to the Americans' visit and no talks between the two sides were scheduled. Read: Iran says ‘no planned negotiations’ with US in coming days as Washington says Doha meeting set for tomorrow "We will not have any negotiation meetings at any level with the American side in the coming days," Baghaei ​said. The disagreement over whether the sides would even meet underscored the fragility of a June 17 accord to pause a conflict that has disrupted global oil flows through the Strait of Hormuz ​and created a political headache for Trump ahead of November's congressional elections. The US and Iran gave themselves at least 60 days to implement the 14-point memorandum of ⁠understanding to extend an April ceasefire, discuss Iran's nuclear program and negotiate a permanent truce. But progress has been halting, with each side accusing the other of violating agreed terms. After the US and Israel attacked Iran ​on February 28, maritime traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow chokepoint that previously carried about a fifth of the global oil trade, came to a virtual standstill. Israel has not joined the US-Iran peace talks ​and has distanced itself from the agreement. Tensions between Washington and Tehran have complicated efforts to end fighting in Lebanon, where Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, an ally of Hezbollah, has cast doubt on a separate, US-brokered agreement between Lebanon and Israel aimed at halting the conflict. Closure of the waterway sent oil prices above $100 a barrel, pushing up global inflation and putting pressure on Trump ahead of the midterm elections that will determine control of the US Congress, where some of his ​fellow Republicans have criticised the president for waging war without lawmakers' authorisation. A senior Iranian official said there would be a meeting in Doha on Tuesday, but unlike previous technical talks between Iran and US teams in ​Switzerland, the focus would be on managing the Strait of Hormuz and de-escalating tensions. Another official with knowledge of the plans said technical teams from the US and Iran are expected to meet separately with Qatari and Pakistani mediators ‌on Wednesday. Uncertainty in Washington Trump told reporters in the Oval Office on Tuesday that, "The meeting in Doha is going to be perhaps important, perhaps not. We're going to find out." At the same time he maintained "we're winning militarily" and repeated his condition that Iran must be stopped from producing a nuclear weapon. Iran has sought leverage by sharing its control of the Strait with neighbouring Oman, saying it plans to charge fees to ships using the waterway and to obstruct vessels that stray outside defined paths. The US has claimed that Iran has hit at least two commercial ships with missiles or drones in recent days and has bombed Iranian military facilities in response. Iran, in turn, launched missiles ​and drones at US military sites in Kuwait ​and Bahrain early on Sunday. Read more: Pakistan moves to salvage fragile ceasefire Witkoff and Secretary of ⁠State Marco Rubio briefed members of Congress on Iran by phone on Monday. Republican Senator Steve Daines told reporters they kept their remarks to a minimum, but he nonetheless deemed the conversation "constructive." Top Senate Democrat Chuck Schumer, however, called the briefing "deficient and devoid of details." “After dragging America into a costly war, the Trump ​administration still can’t name a single thing Americans got in return. Instead, Secretary Rubio confirmed to me that Iran will reap billions in oil revenue ​while retaining dangerous leverage over ⁠the Strait of Hormuz," Schumer said. Release of frozen Iranian assets Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said on Monday that $6 billion of the $12 billion in assets frozen in Qatar would be released and returned to Iran, Iranian state media reported. He described the memorandum, which includes US waivers for sanctions on Iran's oil and petrochemical sectors, as "a great victory for the Iranian people." Oil prices rose more than 1% after weekend hostilities highlighted the fragility of the US-Iran accord. French President ⁠Emmanuel Macron on ​Monday said he was working with Oman to de-escalate tensions and would cooperate with partners to de-mine the Strait of Hormuz. But Iran's ​Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi responded with an X post that the removal of mines was to be carried out solely by Iran according to the 14-point plan. He warned France against complicating the situation.

from Latest World News, International News | Breaking World News https://ift.tt/gEsx75Q
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

At least 32 miners dead after bridge fails at cobalt site in southeast DR Congo

A bridge collapsed at a cobalt mine in southeast Democratic Republic of Congo killing at least 32 wildcat miners, a regional government official said Sunday. The bridge came down Saturday onto a flooded zone at the mine in Lualaba province, Roy Kaumba Mayonde, the provincial interior minister, told reporters. He said 32 bodies had been recovered and more were being searched for. The DRC produces more than 70 percent of the world supply of cobalt, which is essential for batteries used in electric cars, many laptop computers and mobile phones. More than 200,000 people are estimated to be working in giant illegal cobalt mines in the giant central African country. Local authorities said the bridge collapsed at the Kalando mine, about 42 kilometres (26 miles) southeast of the Lualaba provincial capital, Kolwezi. "Despite a formal ban on access to the site because of the heavy rain and the risk of a landslide, wildcat miners forced their way into the quarry," said Mayonde. He said ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Arab countries, Pakistan likely to observe Eid on same day

The International Astronomy Centre confirmed on Wednesday that the crescent moon of Shawwal will be impossible to sight on Saturday, March 29, across all regions of the Arab and Islamic world. This is due to the moon setting before the sun, with the conjunction occurring after sunset. As a result, observing the crescent moon, whether by the naked eye, telescopes, or other means, will be unfeasible on March 29. For countries requiring an actual sighting to mark the start of Shawwal, Ramadan will likely extend to 30 days, with Eid Al Fitr falling on Monday, March 31. However, in some regions where the conjunction occurs before sunset, allowing the moon to set after sunset, some countries may choose to declare Eid on Sunday, March 30, following traditional moon-sighting practices. Notably, a partial solar eclipse will be visible at noon on Saturday in parts of the western Arab world, including Mauritania, Morocco, Algeria, and Tunisia. This event serves as definitive proof that the cresce...
Post a Comment
Read more

Climate damage fund hailed, but 'needs billions rather than millions'

The launch of a climate "loss and damage" fund drew praise and hundreds of millions of dollars in pledges at the UN's COP28 talks on Thursday but also warnings that much more is needed to help vulnerable nations. "We have delivered history today," the UAE's COP28 president Sultan Al Jaber told delegates who stood and applauded after the decision's adoption in Dubai. The announcement was followed immediately by financial pledges, including 225 million euros ($246 million) from the European Union, $100 million from the United Arab Emirates, another $100 million from Germany, $40 million from Britain, $17.5 million from the United States and $10 million from Japan. After years of dragging their feet on the issue, wealthy nations backed the fund in a landmark agreement at the COP27 summit in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, last year. Its launch on the first day of COP28 follows fraught negotiations on the mechanics of the fund, which will be housed at the World Bank...
Post a Comment
Read more