Iraqi Oil Minister: Iranian tankers were using fake Iraqi documents
Hayan Abdulghani, the Iraqi Oil Minister, said on Sunday, March 23, in a television program that Iranian tankers were using fake Iraqi documents to circumvent sanctions. He added that he has informed the relevant American authorities about this issue with complete transparency and stated that these tankers have no connection to Iraq.
Mr. Abdulghani said he learned about this issue from verbal reports concerning the seizure of tankers with Iraqi documents.
Donald Trump, in one of his first actions after returning to power in January, reimposed the maximum pressure policy on Iran.
The United States says its goal is to isolate Iran and completely cut off its oil revenues.
In this television interview, Mr. Abdulghani was asked whether there is a possibility that the Iraqi National Oil Marketing Company, SOMO, could be sanctioned for violating U.S. sanctions. He said that SOMO only sells crude oil to companies that have their own refineries and does not deal with intermediary trading companies.