Iranian oil tanker sanctions suspended after nuclear deal

Bloomberg

By Golnar Motevalli

National Iranian Tanker Co. got permission to ship oil to some Asian countries as sanctions were eased, the official Islamic Republic News Agency reported, citing the company’s Managing Director Ali Akbar Safaei.

Tankers belonging to the company may export crude to China, India, Turkey, Japan, South Korea and Taiwan after sanctions against insuring the country’s vessels were suspended Jan. 20, IRNA said, citing Safaei.

Iran agreed with world powers including the U.S., U.K., France, Russia, China and Germany to curtail its nuclear program in return for an easing of some sanctions on oil, auto parts, gold and precious metals in a Nov. 24 agreement signed in Geneva.

Iran is preparing for a second round of nuclear talks scheduled for next month as it seeks a further easing of sanctions that caused crude exports last year to drop to their lowest since 1990, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. The U.S. and some European countries claim Iran seeks to develop nuclear weapons. Iran says its program is only for energy.

Crude export volumes to the Asian countries covered under the agreement won’t change, IRNA said, citing Safaei. The countries are allowed to import limited volumes of Iranian crude under a sanctions waiver agreement with the U.S.

Sanctions have only been suspended on tankers belonging to the National Iranian Tanker Co. and the National Iranian Oil Co. and not to other commercial and private entities listed by the U.S. treasury department, IRNA said.

The November agreement also gives Tehran access to $4.2 billion of frozen oil revenues and eases sanctions on petrochemical exports.