The Liberian-flagged oil tanker Ice Energy transfers crude oil from the Iranian-flagged oil tanker Lana (former Pegas), off the shore of Karystos, on the Island of Evia, Greece, May 26, 2022. (Reuters/Costas Baltas/File Photo)
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NOTE ON IRAN: Since its inception in 1979 as a revolutionary theocracy, the Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran has declared its hostility to the United States and its allies [including Israel] and partners. Iran remains the world’s leading state sponsor of terror and has aided Hezbollah, Hamas, the Houthis, the Taliban, al-Qa’ida, and other terrorist networks. The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) is itself a designated Foreign Terrorist Organization. (Feb. 4 Trump memorandum)
(by Jonathan Saul and Jarrett Renshaw, Reuters) – President Donald Trump’s administration is considering a plan to stop and inspect Iranian oil tankers at sea under an international accord aimed at countering the spread of weapons of mass destruction, sources familiar with the matter told Reuters.
Trump has vowed to restore a “maximum pressure” campaign to isolate Iran from the global economy and drive its oil exports to zero, in order to stop the country from obtaining a nuclear weapon.
Trump [imposed] two waves of fresh sanctions [on Iran] in the first weeks of his second-term, targeting companies and the so-called shadow fleet of ageing oil tankers that sail without Western insurance and transport crude from sanctioned countries.
Those moves have largely been in line with the limited measures implemented during former President Joe Biden’s administration, during which Iran succeeded in ramping up oil exports through complex smuggling networks. [Biden had restored several sanctions waivers, and among other actions, allowed Iran access to $6 billion in frozen oil revenues held in South Korea, as part of a prisoner swap deal releasing five American detainees. The funds were only supposed to be used for humanitarian purposes.].
Trump officials are now looking at ways for allied countries to stop and inspect ships sailing through critical chokepoints such as the Malacca Strait in Asia and other sea lanes, according to six sources who asked not to be named due to the sensitive subject.
That would delay delivery of crude to refiners. It could also expose parties involved in facilitating the trade [with Iran] to reputational damage and sanctions, the sources said.
“You don’t have to sink ships or arrest people to have that chilling effect that this is just not worth the risk,” one of the sources said. “The delay in delivery … instills uncertainty in that illicit trade network.”
The administration was examining whether inspections at sea could be conducted under the auspices of the Proliferation Security Initiative launched in 2003, which aims to prevent the trafficking of weapons of mass destruction. The U.S. drove that initiative, which has been signed by over 100 governments.
This mechanism could enable foreign governments to target Iran’s oil shipments at Washington’s request, one of the sources said, effectively delaying deliveries and hitting supply chains Tehran relies upon for revenue. …
It was unclear if Washington had yet approached any signatories to the Proliferation Security Initiative to test their willingness to cooperate with the proposal.
John Bolton, who was the U.S. lead negotiator for the initiative when it was formed [in 2003], told Reuters: “it would be fully justified” to use the initiative to slow down Iran oil exports. He noted that selling oil was “obviously critical to raise revenue for the government of Iran to conduct both its proliferation activities and support for terrorism.” …
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian told Iran’s parliament on March 2 that Trump “has once again signed an order sanctioning many of our ships at sea, leaving them uncertain about how to unload their oil and gas cargo”. He was referring to Trump’s latest round of sanctions.
Iran’s Supreme Leader Khamenei (left) and Iran’s president Pezeshkian in Tehran (photo: Office of the Iranian Supreme Leader/WANA (West Asia News Agency)/Handout via REUTERS)
Previous attempts to seize Iranian oil cargoes have triggered retaliation by Iran. [Trump’s plan would not seize ships, just delay them].
The U.S. tried to interdict at least two cargoes of Iranian oil in 2023, under Biden. This prompted Iran to seize foreign ships – including one chartered by Chevron Corp, which sent crude prices higher. …
Aggressive U.S. action could cut Iran exports by some 750,000 barrels per day in the short term, Ben Cahill, an energy analyst at the Center for Energy and Environmental Systems at the University of Texas said, but the longer the sanctions are in place, the less effective they are as Iran and buyers figure out ways around them. …
[Under President Biden] Tehran’s oil exports brought in $53 billion in 2023 and $54 billion a year earlier, largely in trades with China, according to U.S. Energy Information Administration estimates.Iran relies on oil exports to China for vital revenue. Russia, which faces restrictions on oil exports and broader Western sanctions, is similarly focused on shipping oil to buyers in China and India. …
While European countries have spoken about inspections of ships transporting Russian oil suspected of not having valid insurance, little action has been taken and none mooted (suggested) for vessels hauling Iranian oil.
The above is a Reuters report published at Yahoo News UK on March 6, 2025. Reprinted here in part for educational purposes only. May not be reproduced on other websites without permission.
(Reporting By Jonathan Saul in London, Jarrett Renshaw in Washington, additional reporting by Timothy Gardner in Washington and Parisa Hafezi in Dubai, editing by Richard Valdmanis and David Gregorio)!
Questions
1. Explain the following terms as used in the article:
-weapons of mass destruction (from para. 1)
-maximum pressure campaign (from para. 2)
-sanctions (para. 3)
-shadow fleet (para. 3)
-Proliferation Security Initiative (para. 8)
2. What plan is the Trump administration considering implementing under the Proliferation Security Initiative treaty regarding Iran?
3. a) What is the purpose of the plan?
b) What is the intended result (what is the goal) of Trump’s plan?
4. What have European governments done to address the issue of Iran defying sanctions and secretly selling oil to China?
5. John Bolton, who was the U.S. lead negotiator for the initiative when it was formed in 2003, noted that selling oil was “obviously critical to raise revenue for the government of Iran to conduct both its proliferation activities and support for terrorism.”
What do you think: should the Trump administration implement his plan under the Proliferation Security Initiative? Explain your answer.
6. Read the “Background” below the questions. Iran funds and directs many terrorist groups including Hamas, Hezbollah and the Houthis in Yemen. Iran continually calls for the destruction of Israel – and it is believed the mullahs would like the destruction of the U.S. as well. They have held parades calling for “Death to America.” What do you think of President Trump’s plan of maximum pressure as a way to get Iran to end its quest for nuclear weapons?
b) Ask a parent the same question.
Background
The Trump administrations sanctions against Iran are designed to shut down the country’s oil industry and “collapse its already buckling economy,” Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Thursday.
The U.S. is deploying sanctions against Iran aggressively for “immediate maximum impact,” Bessent told the Economic Club of New York. Trump’s goal is to slash Iran’s oil exports of 1.5 million barrels per day to a trickle, the Treasury secretary said.
“We are going to shut down Iran’s oil sector and drone manufacturing capabilities,” Bessent said. The administration also intends to cut off Tehran’s access to the international financial system, he said. …
“Making Iran broke again will mark the beginning of our updated sanctions policy,” the Treasury secretary, a former global investment manager, said. “If I were an Iranian, I would get all my money out of the rial now,” he said, referring to Iran’s currency. …
Trump reimposed his pressure campaign on Iran through a presidential memorandum on Feb. 4. Two days later, the Treasury Department started imposing sanctions on an international network shipping Iranian oil to China. …
Trump, after launching his maximum pressure campaign, has said he wants to negotiate a nuclear deal with Iran. The president said he hoped maximum pressure is “not going to have to be used in any great measure at all.”
“I would much prefer a Verified Nuclear Peace Agreement, which will let Iran peacefully grow and prosper,” Trump said in a social media post on Feb. 5. In 2018, the president withdrew the U.S. from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) nuclear deal negotiated by former President Barack Obama [which the lacked a strong mechanism to ensure full compliance]. (from a March 6 Reuters report at CNBC by Spencer Kimball)
IRAN’S NUCLEAR PROGRAM:
- Iran’s 20 year secret nuclear program was discovered in 2002. Iran says its program is for fuel purposes only, but it has been working on uranium enrichment which is used to make nuclear bombs.
- Under the United Nations’ NPT (Non Proliferation Treaty) countries are not allowed to make nuclear weapons (except for the 5 that had nuclear weapons prior to the treaty – the U.S., Russia, China, France, the United Kingdom).
- Safeguards are used to verify compliance with the Treaty through inspections conducted by the UN’s nuclear watchdog, the IAEA (International Atomic Energy Agency).
- The IAEA issued a report on in 2008 that said Iran has repeatedly blocked an investigation into its nuclear program and the probe was deadlocked.
- The U.N. Security Council has already imposed three sets of sanctions on Iran over its nuclear defiance. Despite the sanctions, Iran has refused to end its nuclear program.
- The Obama-led nuclear deal with Iran dropped all sanctions against the country, which were seen as the only peaceful way to force them to give up their drive for nuclear weapons
- The Iranian government has called for the destruction of Israel on numerous occasions. It is believed that once obtained, Iran would use nuclear weapons against Israel.
During Trump’s first term, in Feb. 2021, Former Obama officials were accused of meetings with Iran to undermine Trump.
Read a commentary about the JCPOA nuclear deal President Obama signed with Iran in 2015 America will pay the price for Obama’s Iran deal ‘victory’
In his last year in office, President Trump gave an address to the people of Iran. See text/video here.
Resources
See a Feb. 4, 2025 Fact Sheet Trump restores “Maximum Pressure on Iran”
Daily “Answers” emails are provided for Daily News Articles, Tuesday’s World Events and Friday’s News Quiz.
