US Warns Asian Countries About Iran's 'Tactics' to Evade Sanctions

A senior official in the US government warned Asian countries, specifically Malaysia and Singapore, to be vigilant regarding "Iran's tactics to evade sanctions." According to Reuters, Ms. Sigal Mandelker, the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence at the US Treasury, who visited Singapore, stated on Friday, March 29, that the US has applied "increased pressure" against Iran this week: "Countries should have a more precise view of Iran's deceptive methods to evade sanctions and sell oil." This official also promised to discuss the consequences of violating US sanctions with officials from Malaysia, Singapore, and India during the week. Iran has resorted to various methods to bypass sanctions and secretly sell oil: from changing ship flags to changing names, colors, registering in other countries, turning off tracking signals of oil tankers, transferring oil to other tankers in international waters, and more. Sigal Mandelker, on Friday, referred to last week's US sanctions against individuals and companies involved in the nuclear program, stating that measures against Iranian, Emirati, Turkish, and other individuals and companies involved in violating US oil sanctions against Iran have also been implemented this week. In November, the US granted six-month exemptions to eight countries, including China, India, South Korea, Japan, Taiwan, Turkey, Italy, and Greece, to continue limited purchases of oil from Iran. This exemption will expire in May. Iran's oil and gas condensate exports have dropped from 2.5 million barrels at the beginning of last year to about 1.1 million barrels. Meanwhile, Reuters reported on Friday that Japanese refineries have stopped purchasing oil from the Islamic Republic as the end of the US oil exemption approaches. It usually takes about a month for oil shipments loaded from Iran to reach Japan and for payments to be made, so refineries in Japan have started considering stopping oil purchases from Iran this month to see if the US will extend the exemptions. The last oil shipment from Iran to Japan is expected to arrive on April 9. Japan had stopped purchasing oil from Iran even before the US oil sanctions in November last year but resumed in late January. In the first quarter of 2019, Iran sold an average of 86,430 barrels of oil per day to Japan, indicating a 33% decrease compared to the same period last year. In November, the US, by offering exemptions to eight of Iran's customers, requested them to significantly reduce their purchases of Iranian oil (by 20%). Statistics show that Japan has purchased much less oil from Iran than it was allowed and has instead increased imports from other Middle Eastern countries, Russia, and even the US. A spokesperson for Japan's Fuji Oil told Reuters that after March, purchasing oil from Iran will be very difficult: "Insurance companies and banks want to ensure that all payments and financial transactions will be completed before the exemptions expire." Reuters writes that Japanese refineries have pressured their government to negotiate for another exemption from the US to purchase Iranian oil. Japanese and US officials met in Washington in early March. Meanwhile, Brian Hook, the US Special Representative for Iran, emphasized in an interview broadcast on Wednesday, April 3, by the English section of Voice of America that the US policy is not to extend any further oil exemptions from sanctions against Iran.