Reactions in Iran to US Warning: Not All Insurance Companies Obey the US

The head of the International Committee of the Legal and Judicial Commission of the Parliament reacted on Thursday to a warning from a US official regarding the risks of Iranian ships due to their insurance status, stating: "International insurance companies will not forgo the profits from insuring Iranian oil tankers." Jalil Rahimi Jahan Abadi, in an interview with ISNA, continued to explain his view: "It is not the case that all insurance companies have economic relations with the US." According to this parliament member, the issue of insuring Iranian oil tankers, which US officials have insisted on in recent days, is "not a legal issue but rather an economic one." He stated: "Not all insurance companies have extensive economic relations with the US that they would need to obey the United States." Brian Hook, the head of the Iran Action Group at the US State Department, said on Wednesday that international insurance companies have been prohibited from providing services to Iranian ships, and the Islamic Republic will likely have to rely on domestic companies for insuring its ships. However, according to Mr. Hook, Iranian insurers "are not capable of paying compensation for environmental disasters that amount to billions of dollars." He also warned that the continued operation of Iranian oil tankers could lead to an "environmental disaster" because the Islamic Republic's tankers turn off their "automatic identification system" to secretly sell oil and avoid detection, while also being uninsured by international insurers. Jalil Rahimi Jahan Abadi, reacting to the statements of the head of the Iran Action Group at the US State Department, believes: "Domestic insurance companies may not be at the level of international companies but have the capacity to insure oil tankers." The US has temporarily exempted eight countries buying Iranian oil from sanctions, which means that Iran's oil exports to these countries will continue, although issues related to the transportation of sold oil and banking transactions arising from this trade remain. Kamali Pour regarding circumventing sanctions with ships: Unfortunately, the US has identified the cases. On Thursday, Yahya Kamali Pour, the deputy head of the Legal and Judicial Commission of the Islamic Consultative Assembly, stated that "the US warning to insurers of Iranian oil tankers is not consistent with international norms and laws," urging the government and diplomatic apparatus to seek solutions in this regard. Yahya Kamali Pour added in an interview with ISNA: "We must note that the US is not very committed to regulations, treaties, and international practices in its sanctions. It is certainly natural that ships in regional, extra-regional, and international waters may incur potential damages, and if they are uninsured, they will face problems. Also, international regulations do not allow them to operate in waters without insurance; therefore, despite this, we must seek legal and international solutions in this regard. Just as we have circumvented sanctions in other cases, we must ensure that the insurance of oil tankers does not face problems. Of course, there have been issues in the past. We used ships that were under the protection of other countries, but unfortunately, the US has identified them, and this route is now closed to us."