Iran raises oil exports to West, almost on par with Asia

Iran's oil exports to the West surged in May to their highest level since the lifting of sanctions in early 2016 and almost caught up with volumes exported to Asia, a source familiar with Iranian oil exports said.

Iran, which used to be OPEC's second biggest oil exporter, has been raising output since 2016 to recoup market share lost to regional rivals including Saudi Arabia and Iraq.

While many Asian nations continued to purchase oil from Iran during sanctions, Western nations halted imports, halving Iran's overall exports to as little as one million barrels per day (bpd).

Last month, Iran exported about 1.1 million bpd to Europe including Turkey, almost reaching pre-sanction levels and only slightly below the 1.2 million bpd supplied to Asia, the source told Reuters.

Iran's exports to Asia last month were the lowest since February 2016, Reuters' calculations showed.

Oil exports to Asia fell as South Korea and Japan stepped up oil condensate purchases and bought less oil, said the source, who asked not to be identified as the information is confidential.

"Iran's condensate parked in floating storage has almost been exhausted because of higher purchases by Japan and Korea," the source said.

Exports to Asia were also hit by India's decision to cut annual purchases from Iran by a fifth for the fiscal year to March 2018.

After the lifting of sanctions, Tehran added new clients such as Litasco and Lotos and won back customers such as Total (TOTF.PA), ENI (ENI.MI), Tupras (RDSa.L), Repsol (REP.MC), Cepsa CPF.GQ and Hellenic Petroleum (HEPr.AT).

OPEC member Iran was allowed a small production increase under a December deal to limit output.

Iran's overall May oil production totaled 3.9 million bpd, the source said.

Iran is currently producing about 200,000 bpd of West Karoun grade, which the nation blends with other Iranian heavy grades for export, he said.

Source: Reuters

Attackers bomb Iran parliament and mausoleum, at least 12 dead: Iranian media

Suicide bombers and gunmen attacked Iran's parliament and the Mausoleum of Ayatollah Khomeini in Tehran on Wednesday morning, killing at least 12 people in a twin assault at the heart of the Islamic Republic, Iranian officials and media said.

Islamic State claimed responsibility and released a video purporting to show gunmen inside the parliament building and one body, apparently dead, on the floor.

The rare attacks were the first claimed by the hardline Sunni Muslim militant group inside in the tightly controlled Shi'ite Muslim country. Islamic State has regularly threatened Iran, one of the powers leading the fight against the militants’ forces in neighboring Iraq and, beyond that, Syria.

The raids took place at a particularly charged time, after Iran's main regional rival Saudi Arabia and other Sunni powers cut ties with Qatar on Monday, accusing it of backing Tehran and militant groups.

Attackers dressed as women burst through parliament's main entrance in central Tehran, deputy interior minister Mohammad Hossein Zolfaghari said, according to the semi-official Tasnim news agency.

One of them detonated a suicide vest in the parliament, he said. About five hours after the first reports, Iranian news agencies said four people who had attacked parliament were dead and the incident was over.

At least 12 people were killed by the attackers, the head of Iran's emergency department, Pir-Hossein Kolivand, was quoted as saying by state broadcaster IRIB.

"I was inside the parliament when shooting happened. Everyone was shocked and scared. I saw two men shooting randomly," said one journalist at the scene, who asked not to be named.

Soon after the assault on parliament, another bomber detonated a suicide vest near the shrine of the Republic's revered founder, Ayatollah Khomeini, a few kilometers south of the city, Zolfaghari said, according to Tasnim.

A second attacker was shot dead, he said.

The Intelligence Ministry said security forces had arrested another "terrorist team" planning a third attack, without giving further details.

"I was shopping and suddenly heard shooting," said housewife Maryam Saghari, 36, who lives near parliament.

"People started to run away from the area. I was very scared. I don't want to live in fear," she told Reuters by telephone.

Source: Reuters

Iran strongly condemns US bombing of Syrian airbase

The Iranian foreign ministry on Friday strongly condemned the bombing of a Syrian airbase by the United States, which it described as destructive and dangerous.

Foreign ministry spokesman Bahram Qasemi said that Tehran considered that the US using a chemical attack in Syria as a pretext for unilateral action is dangerous, destructive and violation of the peremptory principles of international laws.

Source: EFE

US sees Iranian missile test as unacceptable, promises response

The US ambassador to the United Nations, Nikki Haley, said Tuesday that Iran's ballistic missile test on the weekend was "absolutely unacceptable" and promised that Washington would respond to it.

"The United States is not naïve. We are not going to stand by. You will see us call them out," warned Haley after a closed-door Security Council meeting, adding that "we are committed to making them understand that this is not anything that we will ever accept."

The new US envoy to the international body said that it had been "confirmed" that Tehran on Sunday tested a ballistic missile, adding that this runs counter to Security Council Resolution 2231 approved in 2015.

"They know that they are not supposed to be doing ballistic missile testing" of anything that can carry nuclear warheads, Haley told reporters regarding the launch of a missile able to carry a payload of 500 kilograms (1,100 pounds) a distance of 300 kilometers (about 186 miles).

"That is more than enough to be able to deliver a nuclear weapon," she asserted.

Haley, however, did not provide any details as to what the United States intended to do in response to the Iranian test.

Resolution 2231, whereby the Security Council ratified the nuclear pact negotiated among Iran and several world powers, calls upon Tehran not to launch missiles capable of carrying atomic warheads.

The Iranian government on Tuesday insisted that the missiles that it is testing are defensive, conventional and will not be used to carry nuclear warheads, but the US warned that those missiles are perfectly capable of being fitted with such weapons.

Russia, meanwhile, said that Resolution 2231 "does not prohibit" Iran from engaging in this kind of activity, but rather only contains a "call" for them not to do so.

"A call is different from a ban. Legally you cannot violate a call. You can comply or not, but you cannot violate it," said Russia's UN ambassador, Vitaly Churkin.

Other members of the Security Council, such as the United Kingdom, referred to the rests as "not consistent" with the resolution, but avoided speaking about "violations."

According to diplomatic sources, the 15 Security Council members agreed on Tuesday that the committee tasked with monitoring the sanctions on Iran should thoroughly analyze the missile test.

Source: EFE

Iranian refugee detained in Papua New Guinea wins cartooning award

An Iranian refugee held at an Australian-funded detention center in Papua New Guinea has won a political cartooning award for his work depicting life inside the camp.

Ali, a 25-year-old whose pen name is Eaten Fish, has chronicled his three-year detention on Manus Island as he struggles with obsessive compulsive disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder and debilitating panic attacks.

Under Australia's hardline immigration policy, anyone intercepted trying to reach the country by boat is sent for processing to camps on Manus or Nauru in the South Pacific. They are not eligible to be resettled in Australia.

Cartoonists Rights Network International (CRNI) said Ali was recognized for his courage in documenting life under Australia's offshore detention program - which drew thousands of protesters onto streets across the country on Saturday calling for its closure.

"Eaten Fish has been able to keep up a stream of cartoons documenting the unspeakable abuses and excesses of the guards and administrators of the camp," Joel Pett, president of CRNI's board of directors, said in a statement on Friday.

"For this he has been the subject of beatings, deprivation of food, and even worse degrading treatment by the guards."

Ali’s Australian-based advocate, Janet Galbraith, said the award meant a lot to the young cartoonist - whose work has been published in The Guardian newspaper - but it was also an indictment of Australia’s detention program.

Previous winners have included cartoonists jailed or disappeared for their work.

Galbraith said Ali, who fled Iran due to fears of government persecution, was sick and needed specialist medical assistance.

Australia's Department of Immigration and Border Protection denied the claims made by CRNI and defended the care provided at the facility.

"The department currently has no evidence that any of these allegations are true," a spokesman said in an email to Reuters.

Australia and Papua New Guinea said earlier this month the Manus center would be shut but they gave no date for the closure, leaving the fate of about 800 refugees unclear.


Source: Reuters