Page 17 - MEOG Week 24

MEOG n e W s I n B r I e F MEOG

P o LIC y The United Nations said last week that the likening it to Iran’s cargoes for Syria.A
warring sides had started new ceasefire talks State Department spokesman said “the
Russia, Turkey ‘postpone in Libya after GNA forces pushed back LNA international business community should
soldiers that were previously making headway
already be aware of the legal risk of any
Libya talks due to discord with their plan to take the capital Tripoli. transactions with the illegitimate an and
tyrannical regime of Nicolas Maduro”.
Bne
over battle for Sirte’ decades but last year it attained self-sufficiency
Iran was a net gasoline importer for
Russia and Turkey reportedly postponed talks Iran to make continue with the third phase of its 350,000 barrels per
on defusing fighting in Libya due to discord shipping fuel to Venezuela day (b/d) Persian Gulf Star refinery in the port
over the Ankara-backed Tripoli government’s of Bandar Abbas.
push to retake the key coastal city of Sirte Iran is reportedly seeking to make its Even before the impact on demand of
from Russian-backed eastern forces. supplying of gasoline-starved Venezuela with the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic,
The Libyan conflict has lately been back fuel a permanent arrangement – partly so oversupply of gasoline in Iran had reached
in the headlines because of Turkey’s success that the two nations can together defy US 84,000 b/d in the last quarter of 2019,
in using armed drones and other backing sanctions and partly so that the Iranians can according to energy consultancy FGE.
to turn the tide of the conflict in favour of offload a domestic oversupply of fuel. Lacking the storage capacity to handle
the Government of National Accord (GNA) Since April, Iran has sent five tankers such a glut and exporting only five gasoline
and Moscow’s apparent move in response to shipping around 1.5mn barrels of gasoline to cargoes a month, to Asia and Africa, Iran was
fly a score of MIG-29 and Su-24 fighter jets, Nicolas Maduro government of Venezuela, more than happy to meet Venezuela’s request
stripped of their markings, to two remote which is suffering hours-long queues at fuel for fuel, one of the sources quoted by Reuters
desert airfields to back the rebel Libyan stations. From this point on, it is keen to said.
National Army (LNA) forces. send two to three cargoes a month in regular When the COVID-19 crisis passes and
Egypt, along with the UAE and Russia, is gasoline sales to its ally, sources have briefed Iran’s domestic demand for fuel picks up to an
reportedly active in supporting the LNA effort Reuters. estimated 550,000 b/d, Iran should still have
to fight off a GNA bid to retake the strategic The Trump administration, looking to the capacity to send two to three cargoes to
city of Sirte – located south of the Gulf of cripple Iran’s energy export trade as part of its Venezuela per month.
Sirte between the capital and second most “maximum pressure” sanctions bid to secure Bne
populous Libyan city Benghazi – as well as the a diminishing of the Islamic Republic’s role
al-Jufra air base and the oil fields to the south. in Middle East affairs, and intent on bringing Assad fires prime minister
heavy clashes have emerged as the GNA down “kleptocratic” Maduro who it claims has
has laid siege to LNA-held Sirte, also close no democratic legitimacy, has warned ports, Syrian President Bashar Assad has fired his
to major energy export terminals on the shipping companies and insurers against prime minister a month ahead of elections as
Mediterranean seaboard. facilitating Venezuela-bound Iranian tankers. the economic crisis worsens and public anger
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov But Tehran plans to keep up the shipments, rises in the territory under his control.
chose to not make the trip to Istanbul on according to five trading and industry sources Assad on Thursday also appointed the
June 14 for a scheduled meeting with his close to the Iranian oil ministry cited by the current water resources minister to replace
counterpart Mevlut Cavusoglu, but Turkish news agency. Two of the sources said Iran’s Imad Khamis, who has been the premier since
officials briefed that background talks were powerful Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps 2016. The Syrian president asked hussein
continuing at expert level. (IRGC), which answers to Supreme Leader Arnous to replace Khamis until parliament
“A result was supposed to come out [of the Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, was determining elections are held next month and a new
meetings], but that stage could not be reached. policy on Venezuela. government comes in.
There are issues where the two countries are “This is a long-term strategic decision The surprise move comes amid a
on opposing sides,” one Turkish official was made by the state to expand influence,” said deepening economic crisis that Assad’s
quoted as saying by Reuters. one Iranian trader familiar with the policy, government has been facing. Syria’s national

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