Showing posts with label Economic sanctions on Iran. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Economic sanctions on Iran. Show all posts

Wednesday 29 November 2023

Iran-Pakistan gas pipeline, seeking exemptions

The Government of Pakistan (GoP) is reportedly using diplomatic channels to engage with the US authorities to seek exemption from sanctions on multi-billion Pakistan –Iran (IP) Gas Pipeline Project.

Minister for Power and Petroleum, Muhammad Ali recently visited Iran to discuss the project and other energy sector related issues. During the meeting both sides agreed to develop consensus to proceed with the project.

The Gas Sales and Purchase Agreement (GSPA) between Pakistan and Iran was signed in June 2009 and became effective after completing the Conditions Precedents in June 2010.

Under the project, Iran will supply gas from onshore gas processing facility at Assaluyeh to traverse a distance of 1,150 Kms up to Iran-Pakistan border (Iran Section).

Pakistan section of the pipeline is to be laid from Iran-Pakistan border up to Nawabshah in Pakistan covering a distance of over 781 Km. Iran is obligated to supply 750 MMCFD under GSPA.

According to sources, Pakistan and Iran are engaged in the revival of the project. The technical team from Pakistan visited Iran in January 2023 to discuss the way forward. The Iranian technical team visited Pakistan in August 2023 wherein possible implementation options were discussed.

The Prime Minister constituted a high level Ministerial Oversight Committee (MOC) for the project to find robust workable solutions and recommend way forward keeping in view its economic viability, financing as well as political and diplomatic consequences. The Committee is holding regular meetings and considering steps that can be taken for implementation.

Based on recommendations of the Committee, Petroleum Division and Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) are actively engaged with US authorities to seek exemption from sanctions. Alternative, project implementation options are also being explored to fulfill Pakistan’s obligations under GSPA.

Pakistan is actively pursuing legal and diplomatic avenues to implement the project. International legal counsels are also engaged to help seek waiver from US sanctions and formulate workable implementation options.

 

Tuesday 6 June 2023

Iran embassy opens in Riyadh

Iran opened its embassy in its old headquarters in the Diplomatic Quarter in Riyadh. Those who attended the opening ceremony included Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs for Saudi Consular Affairs Ali Al-Youssef, Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister for Consular Affairs Ali Reza Bekdli, and the Iranian ChargĂ© d’Affairs Hassan Zarnegar.

The embassy opening comes about three months after a bilateral agreement was reached between Saudi Arabia and Iran to resume bilateral relations, brokered by China. Last month, Iran appointed Alireza Enayati, a veteran diplomat, as its ambassador to Saudi Arabia.

The Iranian Foreign Ministry had announced on Monday that the country would re-open diplomatic missions in Saudi Arabia in the next two days. Nasser Kanaani, spokesman of the ministry, said in a statement earlier that the Iranian embassy in the Saudi capital Riyadh and consulate general and representative office to the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) in Jeddah would officially re-open on Tuesday and Wednesday.

Kanaani stated that the embassy in Riyadh and its consulate-general in Jeddah had already begun operating to help Iranian pilgrims heading to Saudi Arabia to perform Hajj, set to start by the end of June.

Under a Chinese-brokered deal reached in March, Saudi Arabia and Iran agreed to re-establish relations, which were severed in 2016 following an attack on the Saudi embassy in Tehran and consulate in Mashhad.

 

Friday 27 January 2023

US adamant at containing Iran oil sales

The United States is not happy with the upward trend in Iran's oil exports in recent months and intends to take steps to dissuade and put pressure on countries buying oil from Islamic republic, the US state department's special Iran envoy Rob Malley said.

Speaking to Bloomberg TV, Malley said the US extra-territorial sanctions that have been in place on Iran and its oil sales since former US President Donald Trump pulled Washington out of the Iran nuclear deal in 2018 are still very much in place and have not been "loosened or lessened".

He acknowledged the rise in Iran's oil sales since late last year, saying that Washington is monitoring the situation closely, and taking steps to clamp down on the rising flows — particularly when it comes to China. The country has been the biggest destination for Iranian crude by some distance since the sanctions came into force.

"We keep trying…to take the steps we need to stop the export of Iranian oil and deter countries from buying it," Malley said. But when "you focus on China, that's right. It has been the main destination of elicit exports by Iran."

Oil analytics firm Vortexa pegs Iran's overall crude and condensate exports at 1.28 million b/d for the fourth quarter of 2022, up by 56% compared with 818,200 b/d in the third quarter, and up by 51% on 844,700 b/d in the fourth quarter of 2021.

Argus' tracking puts Iran's crude and condensate exports at 1.11 million b/d on average in the fourth quarter, up by 43% from 776,000 b/d in the third quarter, and by 58% from 704,500 b/d in the corresponding quarter in 2021.

The increase in Iranian shipments coincided with a rally in Chinese demand for oil with refinery runs hitting an 18-month high in November 2022, and remaining high in December 2022. Chinese imports from Iran via Malaysia rose to a record high 1.2 million b/d in November, as independent refiners in Shandong province raced to use up their 2022 import quotas, according to Argus data.

Malley said the US has been in contact with the Chinese authorities on the issue and will continue to take steps to sanction all individuals and entities that are found to be involved in the import of Iranian oil. "The conversations we've had with the Chinese, which go back several months, will be intensified," he said.

The US Treasury Department most recently targeted 13 companies in November registered in China, Hong Kong, the Marshall Islands and the UAE over alleged facilitation of oil trader and contravention of US sanctions.

Malley admitted that the US' sanctions on Iran has been far from "perfect" so far but said the US will "do as much as we can" and "everything in our power to make sure that our sanctions are enforced.

 

Tuesday 13 September 2022

Iran-Pakistan explore ways to expand trade


In a meeting between Consulate General of Iran in Karachi Hassan Nourian and Head of Tehran Chamber of Commerce, Industries, Mines and Agriculture (TCCIMA) Masoud Khansari, the officials discussed ways of expanding trade relations between Iran and Pakistan.

In this meeting, which was held at the place of TCCIMA on Monday, important issues such as the unfamiliarity of the businessmen of the two countries with the production capabilities, goods and services of each other, the existence of some communication and commercial monopolies, the decrease in the number of business delegation exchanges due to the pandemic, and the need for cooperation in holding exhibitions as well as more attention to border crossings were raised and discussed.

Referring to the volume of trade between Iran and Pakistan, Nourian said, “Informal trade between the two countries is large, and many Iranian products are traded in the Pakistani market using national currencies; trade through third countries and even smuggling also takes place, and it is estimated that the actual trade between the two countries is much higher than what is recorded in the official statistics.”

“For a long time, establishing a barter trade mechanism between the two countries has been discussed for developing mutual trade, and in this regard, a memorandum of understanding has also been signed between Zahedan Chamber of Commerce and Quetta Chamber of Commerce and Industry, but nothing special has happened in terms of implementation, and it seems that more focus and effort should be put on this issue,” the official added.

Referring to the holding of an exhibition in Karachi in late December, Nourian called on the Iranian chambers of commerce to make the necessary arrangements for the maximum presence of Iranian companies in this event.

Khansari for his part stated that TCCIMA will take the necessary measures to ensure the presence of private sector companies in the Karachi exhibition.

He further noted that TCCIMA is going to send an official invitation to Karachi Chamber of Commerce to send a business delegation to Tehran.

Sunday 5 June 2022

Should Iran accept US offer to export crude oil?

According to a Bloomberg report United States is considering allowing Iran to export limited quantity of crude oil. This would be the second temporary suspension of sanction, after allowing Venezuela to export oil. This could be termed ‘the most selfish decision of the US administration’.

It is anticipated that this decision is being made to bring down global oil prices. However, some critics say it is only to avoid defeat in the upcoming elections. The US administration has millions of barrels of strategic reserves and prices could be brought down within hours of the announcement of release of oil from these reserve.

In all sincerity, Iran must not accept this offer until the US removes all the sanctions. If Iran could endure sanctions for more than four decades, even during COVID pandemic the US should also pay high price for initiating proxy war in Ukraine.

United States and European Union were perfectly aware of the consequences of imposing sanctions on Russia and stopping purchase of oil and gas. Still they kept on dumping lethal arms in Ukraine rather than facilitating ceasefire.

It is the most appropriate time to teach a lesson to United States that its atrocities can’t be continued for indefinite period. The US was successful in stopping oil supplies from Iran, Iraq, Libya and Venezuela, but stopping sale of Russian oil and gas was not just possible.

To conclude it may be said that United States has lost war in Ukraine despite sending tons of lethal arms and injecting trillions of dollars.

OPEC must also not increase output in July and August and let United States get a taste how sanctions bites a country, which has imposed sanctions on dozens of countries.

Monday 8 March 2021

Why United States is shy in imposing sanctions on Saudi Arabia?

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman (MBS) “approved an operation … to capture or kill Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi,” according to a scathing new report from Joe Biden administration. Yet the President says the US will not sanction the Saudi government, cognizant of the fact that any direct punishment could risk Saudi Arabia’s cooperation in confronting Iran.

Biden is grapple with the reality that Saudi Arabia is needed to achieve certain US objectives in the Middle East. This is a change from Biden’s criticism of Saudi Arabia on the campaign trail. The Khashoggi affair highlights a persistent oddity in the US foreign policy.

The Trump administration was reluctant to confront Saudi Arabia over the killing of Khashoggi. Beyond revoking the visas of some Saudi officials implicated in Khashoggi’s death, Trump did nothing to punish the kingdom for Khashoggi’s torture, assassination and dismemberment. Trump and other White House officials reminded critics that Saudi Arabia buys billions of dollars weapons from the US.

 Biden has taken a slightly tougher line, approving the release of the intelligence report that blames MBS for Khashoggi’s murder and sanctioning 76 lower-level Saudi officials. Saudi Arabia isn’t the only nation to get a free pass from the US for its terrible misdeeds. The US has for decades maintained close ties with some of the world’s worst human rights abusers.

Ever since the United States emerged from the Cold War as the world’s dominant military and economic power, consecutive American presidents have seen financial and geopolitical benefit in overlooking the bad deeds of brutal regimes. Before the Islamic revolution in 1979, Iran was a close US ally. Shah Reza Pahlavi ruled harshly, using his secret police to torture and murder political dissidents. President Nixon hoped that Iran would be the “Western policeman in the Persian Gulf.”

After the shah’s overthrow, the Reagan administration in the 1980s became friendly with Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein. The US supported him with intelligence during Iraq’s war with Iran and looked the other way at his use of chemical weapons. And before Syria’s intense bloody civil war – which has killed an estimated 400,000 people and featured grisly chemical weapon attacks by the government – its authoritarian regime enjoyed relatively friendly relations with the US Syria has been on the State Department’s list of state sponsors of terrorism since 1979. But US presidents i.e. Nixon, Carter, Bush and Clinton visited President Bashar al-Assad’s father, who ruled from 1971 until his death in 2000.

Why Saudi Arabia matters

Before the alleged assassination of Khashoggi by Saudi operatives, the 35-year-old crown prince was cultivating a reputation as a moderate reformer. He has made newsworthy changes in the conservative Arab kingdom, allowing women to drive, combating corruption and curtailing some powers of the religious police. Still, Saudi Arabia remains one of the world’s most authoritarian regimes.

Saudi Arabia ranks just above North Korea on political rights, civil liberties and other measures of freedom, according to the democracy watchdog Freedom House. The same report ranks both Iran and China ahead of the Saudis. But its wealth, strategic Middle East location and petroleum exports keep the Saudis as a vital US ally.

President Obama visited Saudi Arabia more than any other American US president – four times in eight years – to discuss everything from Iran to oil production.

American realpolitik

This kind of foreign policy – one based on practical, self-interested principles rather than moral or ideological concerns – is called “realpolitik.” Henry Kissinger, secretary of state under Nixon, was a master of realpolitik, which drove that administration to normalize its relationship with China. Diplomatic relations between the two countries had ended in 1949 when Chinese communist revolutionaries took power. Then, as now, China was incredibly repressive. Only 16 countries – including Saudi Arabia – are less free than China, according to Freedom House. Iran, a country the US wants Saudis to help in keeping in check, ranks ahead of China. But China is also the world’s most populous nation and a nuclear power.

Nixon, a fervent anti-communist, sought to exploit a growing rift between China and the Soviet Union. Today Washington retains the important, if occasionally rocky, relationship Kissinger forged with Beijing, despite its ongoing persecution of Muslim minority groups. American realpolitik applies to Latin America, too. After the Cuban Revolution of 1959, the U.S. regularly backed Central and South American military dictators who tortured and killed citizens to “defend” the Americas from communism.

US not ‘so innocent’

 US presidents tend to underplay their relationships with repressive regimes, lauding lofty “American values” instead. That’s the language former President Barack Obama used in 2018 to criticize Trump’s embrace of Russia’s authoritarian president, Vladimir Putin, citing America’s “commitment to certain values and principles like the rule of law and human rights and democracy.” But Trump defended his relationship with Russia, tacitly invoking American realpolitik. “You think our country’s so innocent?” he asked on Fox News.

The US has maintained close ties to numerous regimes, and still does, who’s values and policies conflict with America’s constitutional guarantees of democracy, freedom of speech, the right to due process and many others.

Saturday 28 November 2020

Can Iran become a dependable source of copper for Pakistan?

Pakistan imports substantial quantity of refined/purified copper to meet its industrial demand. At present the metal is being imported from far-flung countries, costing huge freight cost. Pakistan can’t import copper from Iran due to the sanctions imposed on the country by the United States.

Production of copper cathode in Iran increased six percent during the first half of the current Iranian calendar this year as compared to the same period last year. Copper cathode output was recorded at about 139,900 tons during the period under reviews, while the budgeted figure was 130,015 tons. Monthly copper cathode production was 24,198 tons or 10 percent higher than the figure of the same month in the previous year.

Production of copper cathode this year is budgeted at 280,000 tons as against reported production of 250,000 tons last year.

In early May, four development projects worth slightly more than US$952 million were inaugurated in the copper sector of Kerman Province in the southeast of Iran.

The projects inaugurated in Khatoon Abad Copper Complex included increasing the capacity of copper smelting in the complex, building a copper concentrate storage, construction of a sulfuric acid production plant, and an oxygen supplying unit. 

By putting the first project into operation, the complex’s capacity for producing copper anode rose by 50 percent to 120,000 tons, and the country’s copper smelting capacity rose to 400,000 tons. This project created jobs for 120 persons.

The second project, which was the construction of a 60,000-ton storage facility, was implemented at the cost of about US$3.7 million plus three million euros, creating jobs for 250 people. The third project was valued at about US$17.8 million plus 100 million euros and the fourth one was put into operation at the cost of about US$4.5 million plus 31 million euros.

Iran has seen its copper exports doubled in the past Iranian calendar year despite a series of bitter sanctions imposed by the United States aimed at hampering the Islamic Republic’s trade of metals.

Thursday 2 May 2019

Turkey terms US sanctions against Iran ‘blatant violation of international laws’


Dr. Osman Faruk Logoglu, a senior member of Turkey’s Republican People's Party, condemning the US move to force his country to buy oil from Saudi Arabia and UAE instead of Iran has termed the move “flagrant violation of international law and sovereignty of nations to trade freely.”
In continuation of the US hostile policies against the Iranian nation, the White House recently decided not to reissue waivers on Iranian oil after these expire in early May. The statement went on to say that the United States, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates have pledged to ensure that the global market will have sufficient oil supply following Washington's decision to terminate sanctions waivers for countries importing Iranian oil.
Logoglu said, “The sanctions are illegal because these have been imposed unilaterally without a mandate from the UN Security Council or by any other authorized body.”  He also said, that the US was certainly not entitled to import Iranian oil or goods itself but has no right to stop others from engaging in what is legal and proper.  
Logoglu was of the opinion that the US effort to drive Iranian oil exports to zero is not possible.  There will certainly be buyers of Iranian oil who will not comply with US sanctions.  China has already declared that its trade with Iran is legal and normal.  Turkey has also taken a stance against the US move.
The US decision is not likely to bring peace and stability in the region, yet harm the Iranian people. Turkey has rejected unilateral sanctions and impositions on how to conduct relations with neighbors.  Iran's exports might be curtailed for some time in the near future, but in the longer run the volume of its exports could/should rise. Turkey expects adverse reactions to the US decision to grow in due course of time that could help Iran in selling more of its oil.
Logoglu said, “Iran is our neighbor.  We have a broad range of economic relations. Oil is one major element in the nexus of our ties with Iran.  The physical proximity is also an important asset as far as Iranian oil is concerned.   Given the state of our problematic relations with both Saudi Arabia and the UAE, there is no incentive for Turkey to buy oil from them.   
Logoglu, was very clear and said, “Even if Turkey reduces its oil imports from Iran and starts looking for other sources, the alternative for Turkey will be neither Saudi Arabia nor the UAE.  Current conditions do not allow Turkey to turn in that direction.  In any case, the US is not in a position to dictate Turkey where it is to buy its oil from.”

Monday 6 April 2015

Iranian annual trade hits US$150 billion despite sanctions

Despite sanctions imposed by UN, EU and U.S. on Iran over its nuclear program, the country’s annual trade amounted to US$150 billion for the recently concluded Iranian calendar year on March 20.
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Iranian Deputy Industry, Mining, and Trade Minister Mojtaba Khosrotaj said that although official data on Iran’s annual trade has not been published, but non-oil trade is estimated to hit US$105 billion in the past year.
Taking oil and service sectors into account, the country’s foreign trade will exceed $150 billion, he added.
This performance shows significant abilities of the Iranian nation that managed to achieve US$150 billion business with the world despite sanctions.
The official said there are concerted efforts to increase the country’s value of annual non-oil exports by 20 percent to US$60 billion during the ongoing Iranian calendar year.
In December 2014, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said the government aimed at increasing non-oil exports to US$50 billion by the next calendar year.
Traditionally, Iran relies heavily on oil for revenue. With sanctions restricting oil exports, the government is working to improve other parts of the economy.
Iran’s non-oil exports witnessed nearly half-a-percent growth while the country’s non-oil imports dropped around five percent in the previous Iranian calendar year. 
Another remarkable feat is that over 12.3 million tons of goods were transited via Iran in the previous Iranian calendar year, which ended on March 20, 2015.
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Transit of goods via the country rose by 6.5 percent in Iranian calendar year (March 2014 to March 2015) compared to the year before quoted Iranian Roads Maintenance Organization official Mohammad Javad Atrchian.
The transited consignments mostly consisted of fuel, construction materials, home appliances, cotton and vehicles. Shahriyar Afandizadeh, the Iranian deputy transport and urban development minister has said that Iran has the capacity to transit 40 million tons of goods annually.