Tag: Sanctions

Iran renamed 90 cargo ships in its container line In an effort to avoid sanctions, Iran renamed 90 cargo ships in its container line, which enables the country to circumvent sanctions on arms sales and the movement of nuclear equipment, The Jerusalem Post reported.One of the authors of the report, published by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, likened Iran's tactics to shuffling a deck of cards in a Las Vegas casino."There is a constant game of cat and mouse being played," Hugh Griffiths, a co-author of the two-year report said, according to the paper. "And the renaming and re-flagging of vessels of different states is a way of trying to avoid inspection because of sanctions."The report said the Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Line, once the 23rd largest container line in the world, has renamed 90 out of its 123-ship fleet and re-flagged additional ships, the paper reported.The Post reported instances where the Israeli Navy caught Iranian arms ships transporting weapons in the volatile area and sought assistance from Western countries to help stanch the smuggling.Tension has been building over Iran's nuclear program. The West is imposing new sanctions, charging that Iran is building nuclear weapons. Iran denies that ...

Iran has not stored oil on tankers in the Gulf Iran has not stored oil on tankers in the Gulf, and its crude exports have not been disrupted due to mounting international pressure over its disputed nuclear program, an oil official told the semi-official Mehr news agency.On Tuesday shipping sources told Reuters the volume of Iranian crude oil stored at sea had risen to as much as 8 million barrels and was likely to increase further as the Islamic Republic struggles with sanctions and a seasonal refinery slowdown."There has been no disruption in Iran's crude exports through the Persian Gulf ... We have not stored oil in the Gulf because of sanctions as some foreign media reported," Pirouz Mousavi told Mehr."We do not have even one drop of oil (stored) in the Persian Gulf ... Iran's oil exports are taking place based on the OPEC's policies."Iran, OPEC's second-largest oil producer after Saudi Arabia with output of about 3.5 million barrels per day, faces trade hurdles over its nuclear program, which the United States and its allies say is aimed at building bombs.Iran says it needs nuclear technology to generate electricity.European Union countries have agreed in principle to embargo imports of ...