11 May 2001 In the run-up to the expected showdown at the UN in three weeks, when the current ninth phase of the Iraqi oil-for-food program ends, US State Department officials have embarked on intensive consultations with their four fellow permanent Security Council members on the ideas for “smart sanctions” the Americans intend to propose in the UN resolution covering the program’s 10th phase. The proposals, expounded to the French,…
Tag: oil smuggling
Not-So-Blind Eye
21 April 2000 For years, Iran turned a blind eye as Iraq smuggled thousands of barrels of oil a day across the Iranian part of the Shatt al-Arab waterway into the Gulf. No longer. A combination of factors, including Tehran’s very understandable desire to protect its own interests, has prompted a well-publicized clampdown on the illegal trade, leading Tehran to seize 10 vessels in one 24-hour period two weeks ago….