US officials have expressed their frustration with the Iraqi government and other allies who are not acting tough about implementing the sanctions imposed on Iran.
The Wall Street Journal (THE WALL STREET JOURNA) quoted officials as saying: Iranian oil smugglers are using Iraqi waters to avoid restrictions on trade with Tehran.
The newspaper said that Iranian oil tankers unload their cargo regularly in ships waiting for them miles away in the waters near the port of Al-Faw in southern Iraq, where crude oil is mixed with other shipments coming from other regions to hide its source and ends up in the global oil market.
According to the newspaper's report, according to a customs statement dating back to last March, 230,000 barrels of oil were transferred from the National Iranian Oil Company to a ship anchored off the Iraqi coast.
According to people familiar with the process, the shipment was mixed with Iraqi oil and then transferred to other ships, but the final destination of the oil was not clear.
US officials added that satellite images reveal that such maneuvers have become increasingly common and undermine President Donald Trump's administration's "maximum pressure" policy, as it seeks to force Iran to negotiate new restrictions on its nuclear ambitions and regional influence.
For its part, the Iraqi government has expressed several times its support for the US sanctions, but declined to comment on this article.
Last August, Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kazemi Trump met in Washington, in a visit that the two sides described as a new chapter in relations between the two countries that were tense during the era of his predecessor, Adel Abdul Mahdi.
According to the "Tanker Trackers" company, which tracks the route of oil tankers, the average daily Iranian crude oil and condensate exports reached 827 thousand barrels per day during the first six months of this year, registering an increase of 28% compared to the previous six months, but it is much less than what it recorded in May. 2018 before the sanctions were imposed, as it produced 2.7 million barrels per day.
And US officials again said that although some Iranian oil exports are transported to countries not allied with the United States, such as Syria and China, they often pass through other allies such as Abu Dhabi or Baghdad, where their source is hidden.
And last year, the Trump administration called on the UAE to stop the illegal transit of Iranian oil through its waters.
In May, Washington affirmed that shipping companies must ensure that their customers and counterparts do not send or receive any Iranian oil, and it also recommended that additional checks be conducted to verify the source of the shipments during transport operations that fall within high-risk areas such as the Persian Gulf.
Moreover, a State Department official said that reports of actions that constitute sanctions evasion have become alarming, adding that his country remains committed to the "maximum pressure" strategy against Iran.