Government Of Iran News

Iran's envoy to London said on Wednesday the oil cargo of tanker Adrian Darya 1 was sold at sea to a private company, denying Tehran had broken assurances it had given over the vessel, but he insisted EU's Syria sanctions did not apply to Tehran."At (the) meeting with the British Foreign Secretary, it was emphasised that British authorities' action against the tanker carrying Iranian oil was in violation of international law," ambassador Hamid Baeidinejad said on Twitter after being summoned in London."EU sanctions cannot be extended to third countries. Despite numerous threats by America, the tanker sold its oil at sea to a private company and has not violated any obligation," Baeidinejad added."The private company ...

Britain summoned the Iranian ambassador on Tuesday to condemn what it said was a clear breach of the assurances it was given over the oil cargo of the tanker Adrian Darya 1, which had previously been detained for breaching EU sanctions."Iran has shown complete disregard for its own assurances over Adrian Darya 1," foreign minister Dominic Raab said in a statement, accusing Iran of reneging on a promise not to transfer oil from the tanker to Syria."This sale of oil to (Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's) brutal regime is part of a pattern of behaviour by the Government of Iran designed to disrupt regional security."Britain said it would raise the issue at the United Nations later this month. (Reporting by William James, editing by Elizabeth Piper)

Yesterday U.S. President Donald J. Trump issued an executive order enhancing economic sanctions on Iran, targeting the country's leadership. The executive order, in its entirety, follows:By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, including the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (50 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.) (IEEPA), the National Emergencies Act (50 U.S.C. 1601 et seq.), section 212(f) of the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1952 (8 U.S.C. 1182(f)), and section 301 of title 3, United States Code,I, DONALD J.

Iran has placed orders worth around $2.4 billion with South Korean shipyards for the construction of ships to carry Iran’s oil and petrochemical products, The Wall Street Journal says. The orders have been placed by the Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines (IRISL) and the oil producer Iranian Offshore Oil Company (IOOC). The Korean companies involved in the case are Hyundai Mipo Dockyard, which is a subsidiary of shipbuilding giant Hyundai Heavy Industries Group, as well as Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering Company. It has signed a memorandum of understanding with Hyundai Mipo Dockyard, a subsidiary of shipbuilding company Hyundai Heavy Industries Group, for as many as 10 petroleum-product tankers and at least six so-called handysize bulk carriers.

During a meeting in Brussels on Thursday 12 February, members of European Union decided to sanction again the Iranian Oil Tanker Company which is transporting oil around the globe. The EU's second-highest court ruled last July there were no grounds to blacklist the National Iranian Tanker Company (NITC), Iran's biggest tanker firm, after it contested the designation. Hence the EU moved to re-impose sanctions on tighter legal grounds, says a Reuters report. The regulation will be published in the EU's Official Journal on Saturday. NITC - a major transporter of Iran's oil - contested the EU's original blacklisting last year, arguing that the firm is privately owned by Iranian pension funds. It has denied any links with the Iranian government or with the Revolutionary Guards.

Iran's main oil tanker firm NITC will struggle for some time to call at European ports, get foreign insurance and overcome obstacles under western sanctions, even after a top court has annulled its blacklisted status in the European Union. An interim deal between Iran and world powers signed in November has provided the Islamic Republic with some sanctions relief, helping to boost oil sales. But continued restrictions on shipping and insurance have meant that a return to Tehran's pre-sanction export level of over 2 million barrels per day (bpd) is still some way off. The European court ruling "will not give them carte blanche to transport cargos…

The accord reached between Iran and the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council (the United States, China, Russia, Great Britain and France) and Germany (the P5+1) in November 2013, becomes effective Jan. 20, 2014, for a six-month interim period. The accord provides limited sanctions relief for Iran in exchange for a halt to Iran's nuclear development program. While some of the details regarding the specific scope of sanctions relief are not yet public, this alert provides initial information about the scope and impact of these measures. On Nov. 24, 2013, the P5+1 reached an interim accord with Iran called the Joint Plan of Action. This accord is intended to provide an interim compromise to give negotiators an opportunity to conclude a more permanent agreement.

Iran Continues to Dominate U.S. Since last year’s update appeared in the May 2012 issue of Maritime Reporter & Engineering News, Iran has continued to dominate U.S. sanctions headlines. Significant actions by both the U.S. Congress and Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) over the past year have increased sanctions against Iran substantially, and further initiatives are pending. Our 2013 update concentrates on these key developments, with particular focus on Iran sanctions of interest to the maritime community.

The U.S. Treasury Department yesterday said the United States is imposing additional sanctions on Iran’s nuclear and ballistic missile proliferation networks, and is also taking additional steps to prevent the evasion of sanctions by publicly identifying a group of Iranian front companies and banks. “Iran today is under intense, multilateral sanctions pressure, and we will continue to ratchet up the pressure so long as Iran refuses to address the international community’s well-founded concerns about its nuclear program,” said Treasury Under Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence David S. Cohen. Continuing the effort to target Iran’s nuclear and missile proliferation activities, the U.S.

The primary focus of last year’s annual update, which appeared in the April 2011 issue, was U.S. efforts to tighten economic sanctions against Iran. Over the past year, U.S. pressure on Iran has intensified. Syria also has been a target of new U.S. sanctions, while the sanctions against Libya imposed in early 2011 have been eliminated for all practical purposes by a series of general licenses. Our 2012 update concentrates on these key U.S. developments, but readers should be aware that these were not the only recent changes to U.S. and international sanctions programs.

A U.S. proposal to sanction Iran’s state-owned oil company and its main tanker fleet may ensnare any person or business in the world involved in purchasing or shipping Iranian oil, according to a report from Bloomberg. Pressure is mounting on Iran’s nuclear program, as the prospect of an attack from Israel grows beyond rhetoric. In turn, the pressure is rising to force Iran to back down. The Senate Banking Committee unanimously adopted a measure Feb. 2 to compel the administration to investigate links between Iran’s crude-oil supply chain and its powerful Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, an elite military unit that the U.S. has sanctioned for weapons proliferation, terrorism support and human-rights abuses. The move would essentially “black list” Iranian oil.

The primary focus of last year’s annual update, which appeared in the April 2010 issue, was U.S. efforts to tighten economic sanctions against Iran. The last several months have seen these efforts come to fruition, as well as imposition of new sanctions affecting Libya, North Korea, and Somalia. Our 2011 update concentrates on these key developments, but readers should be aware that these were not the only changes to sanctions programs administered by the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (“OFAC”) over the past year. As always, remaining abreast of all applicable embargoes and sanctions must be a priority for international businesses. U.S. Developments. On July 1, 2010, long sought amendments to the Iran Sanctions Act (“ISA”) became law.

The Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) issued a final rule amending the Iranian Transaction Regulations to expand the scope of certain economic sanctions to include non-financial as well as financial institutions determined to be owned or controlled by the Government of Iran and to add three non-financial institutions that have been determined to be owned or controlled by the Government of Iran [the National Iranian Oil Company, the Naftiran Intertrade Company Ltd, and Naftiran Intertrade Co. (NICO) Sarl].  The amendments come into effect immediately.  Companies that trade with both the United States and Iran should exercise care so as to avoid inadvertent violations of these regulations.  73 Fed. Reg. 73788  (December 4, 2008). (Source: Holland & Knight)

With the UN referral issue creating uncertainty about India's future relations with Iran, the Petroleum Ministry is fairly assured of the supply of five-million-ton contracted liquefied natural gas (LNG) from Iran. According to the Hindu Business Line, the 5 mt per annum LNG deal was legally binding, which ends speculations that the $20 billion LNG deal with Iran may be in trouble. The ongoing negotiations with Iran are for the additional 2.5 mt per annum. The issue of pricing for the contracted 5 mt LNG was not discussed during the recent high-level meeting between the two countries in Tehran. Negotiations for an additional 2.5 mt per annum would be tough…