Iran is turning to its old ways of circumventing US sanctions

Fake companies, barter deals, and the transfer of oil to high seas oil tankers are some of the ways in which Iran can maintain its economy in an acceptable state, following US economic sanctions targeting the country's oil industry. It entered into force at midnight on Monday.

Iran has a lot of experience in this area, having been subjected to international sanctions on its nuclear industry, which has suffocated its economy. But that changed in 2015 when it signed a joint and comprehensive plan of action with the world's major powers, including the United States, known as the Iranian Nuclear Agreement. The agreement has the legal backing and approval of the United Nations, but Washington's withdrawal from the agreement last May, as well as its decision to impose sanctions on Iran, as well as punishing the countries it deals with, also confirm that Iran will return to its old bases in circumventing the sanctions. Here are some of the steps Iran has taken to evade US sanctions in the past:

* Hide oil tankers from prosecution:

The ships have an automatic identification and identification system for the safety of ships, which allows them to be located at any time, but this system can be stopped if the vessel does not want to be known to transfer oil to a particular port and then to operate again after leaving the area. "It's a very effective tactic, which also obscures the customer who buys the oil," said researcher Paulina Azvich, a London-based researcher who studied the cases of Iran and North Korea at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies in California. "Iran will use this tactic by closing the positioning system, Paulina said. This allows carriers to act as floating oil depots, waiting for those who want to buy Iranian crude oil in violation of US sanctions.

* Transfer of oil from one ship to another:

This method is widely used, legal to distribute huge shipments to smaller ones, but Iran used them to conceal shipments of oil sales. This is done in the following manner: an Iranian tanker anchored either near the port or at sea, and the oil is transported directly to a second tanker. The second truck then travels to another port, where it sells oil. The aim of the process, according to the US Treasury Department in 2013, is "to hide the fact that the true origin of the oil is from Iran, and put it on the global market as not Iranian oil."

* Camouflage property:

Iran used formal companies and registered its carriers in other countries to bypass international scrutiny. These procedures are perfectly legal in shipping, but they are vague and difficult for the police. In the past, Iran has disguised state ownership of its carriers by transferring them to state-owned companies and keeping them operating, she said. "The owner of the ship or its operator will remain the same, but not on the paper assigned to the operations of the ship," she said.

Iran has used different flags on its ships. This is common in the shipping industry, where the ship owner registers them in a country where the laws are loose and not strict, but in the case of Iran, the various flags of the ship are intended to disguise their ownership. The Islamic Republic has long been naming different ships.

* Money laundering:

Iran has long benefited from places where the central authority is weak to launder money and return money to Iran, said Behnam Talblo, who studies Iran at the Foundation for the Defense of Freedoms. The Iranian billionaire, Babak Zanjani, has used a Malaysian bank and dozens of formal companies to sell Iranian oil. He has earned billions in favor of the Iranian regime, according to the US Treasury Department (Zanjani was sentenced to death in 2013 for saving $ 1 billion of that profit).

* Iran's influence and European efforts:

Iran can continue to sell its oil to its top customers by making swap contracts or by using a non-dollar currency.

Iran had traded oil with goods, such as cars and telephones, with China, and sold crude oil to India in Indian rupiah. India and China are the largest customers of Iranian oil, given that the two countries enjoy an economy growing at an accelerated pace, so their demand for oil is large. The two countries could ask permission from the United States to continue importing Iranian oil, but the administration of US President Donald Trump, who wants to stifle the Iranian regime, is opposed to allowing Iran to earn from selling its oil.

European countries have talked about setting up a platform for special contracts with Iran. This mechanism will bypass the financial system of the United States and allow European companies to make deals with Iran. To date, the European Union has not taken clear steps in this area.

Perhaps most important for Iran is its ability to respond by other means to pressure the United States.

Iran may send its oil to Russia

According to news reports, the Iranian regime could send its oil to Russia, where it would be liquidated and then sold to European companies. European countries would then be able to trade oil with the goods Iran needs, such as medical instruments and industrial machinery. The United States says it opposes such mechanisms, although it is not known how it will affect Russia.

- Iran can continue to sell its oil to its top customers by making swap contracts or by using a currency other than the dollar.