ICYMI: Iran’s “Ghost Armada” Filling Tehran’s War Chest With Chinese Funds

(New York, N.Y.) — On Sunday, United Against Nuclear Iran (UANI) CEO Ambassador Mark D. Wallace and Chairman Senator Joseph I. Lieberman authored an op-ed in The Spectator highlighting Iran’s sanctions-busting “ghost armada” and its growing backdoor alliance with China to facilitate the illegal transfer of Iranian oil into Chinese ports. The piece underscores deepening Iran-China ties and investments and the threats therein posed to the international community:

“…Working at the behest of the Iranian leadership, a fleet of vessels has been assembled with the sole objective of breaching international sanctions barring foreign investments and exports of Iranian petroleum products. They have been ferrying black-market oil to willing buyers, predominantly China. Through these illegal transactions, Iran is pocketing vast amounts of foreign currency and building a war chest to withstand sanctions. At the same time, China is gaining a vital geopolitical foothold in the Middle East, something central to its own global ambitions.”

UANI’s Iran Tanker Tracker tracks Iran’s exports of crude oil and gas condensates monthly. For July, UANI estimated Iran’s crude oil and gas exports condensates at 843,233 barrels of oil per day (bpd), with China again being the single biggest importer. 

In November 2020, UANI identified 70 foreign vessels suspected of involvement in the illicit transfer of Iranian crude oil and/or petroleum products. Just seven months later, the list has grown to 127. This suspected rogue armada, distinct from but complementing Iran’s own NITC tanker fleet, has skirted U.S. sanctions and exploited regulatory loopholes to ship millions of barrels of Iranian oil. 

To read Ambassador Wallace and Senator Lieberman’s op-ed in The Spectator, please click here. 

To read UANI’s Iran Tanker Tracking resource, please click here.  

To read UANI’s blog post, Stop The Hop II: The Rogue Armada Grows, please click here. 

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