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UAE sheikh complains about oil cargo that the US claims to be from Iran
(Bloomberg) – The US attempt to prevent Iran from exporting oil suffered a blow after a UAE sheikh claimed a cargo that Washington seized and claimed to be from the Islamic Republic. court that the approximately 2 million barrels of oil were originally from Iraq. Fujairah International Oil & Gas Corp., wholly owned by Sheikh Hamad bin Mohammed Al Sharqi, said he is an intermediate oil seller, according to a complaint filed in a federal court in the District of Columbia. The case highlights the difficulty the United States faces in trying to prevent Iran from generating revenue from energy sales and pressuring it to restart nuclear talks. While Iranian oil shipments have declined due to the threat of U.S. penalties, they have chosen in recent months, although their origin is often disguised. The main buyers are refineries in China. Washington claims that Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and the IRGC-Quds Force – both classified as terrorist organizations by the United States – secretly transported oil abroad, relying on ship-to-ship transfers and forged documents. Iran said the cargo belonged to the “private sector” and that its seizure was an “act of piracy”. “I am sure that Iranian oil continues to flow,” said Iman Nasseri, managing director for the Middle East at consultancy FGE. “Falsifying documents such as bills of lading and others needed for commerce is not a big problem.” US President Joe Biden has proposed that the two nations return to an international agreement in 2015, under which Iran limits its nuclear activities in exchange for sanctions. His predecessor, Donald Trump, pulled the U.S. out of the deal in mid-2018 and toughened sanctions. Tehran says this must end before a new round of negotiations can begin. Tensions in the Middle East have also increased recently due to a wave of attacks on ships and power installations. Saudi Arabia’s Ras Tanura oil export terminal – the largest in the world – was attacked by drones and missiles earlier this month. Yemen’s Houthi rebels, who are supported by Iran, have claimed the attack. Several tankers were targeted with mines in the Red Sea last year, while an Israeli cargo ship was hit by an explosion in the Persian Gulf in late February. The FIOGC said it bought the oil in June from an undisclosed Iraqi supplier, who presented bill of lading from Iraq’s state oil trader, SOMO, as proof of origin. The FIOGC then stored the oil on a ship in the port of Fujairah, a major energy trading center on the Gulf of Oman coast of the United Arab Emirates. Calls made to SOMO on Sunday were not answered, while the FIOGC did not immediately respond to a request from In October, the FIOGC sold the oil to an unidentified Chinese buyer. According to the agreement, FIOGC was responsible for delivering the oil and chartered supertanker Achilleas for the trip to China. The US government acted to seize the cargo at the end of last year after the Greek owner of Achilleas, Capital Ship Management Corp., alerted authorities to the possibility that he had unknowingly acquired Iranian oil after believing that came from Iraq. Unloading from Houston Achilleas was redirected to the United States and oil was unloaded in Houston this month. FIOGC claims that it holds a financial stake in the cargo. The U.S. Department of Justice filed a lawsuit in early February to allow it to seize the oil. FIOGC was created last year to sell petroleum products. The use of floating storage facilities was “particularly important in 2020” because the coronavirus pandemic hammered demand for oil and traders ran out of space in tanks on land, according to the FIOGC court case. Sheikh Hamad is also a member of the Supreme Council of the United Arab Emirates, the country’s executive branch. The United Arab Emirates is one of the closest US allies in the region. It is a federation of seven emirates, including Fujairah, although Abu Dhabi is the capital and has more political influence. (Updates with analyst comments.) For more articles like this, visit us at bloomberg.comSubscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted source of business news. © 2021 Bloomberg LP