Eye on Iran: South Korea to Halt Iran Oil Imports as EU Ban Bites

For continuing coverage follow us on Twitter and join our Facebook group.    Top Stories Reuters: "South Korea became the first major Asian consumer of Iranian crude to announce a halt to imports after the government said they would be suspended from July 1 due to a European Union ban on insuring tankers carrying Iranian oil. The insurance ban makes it almost impossible to ship Iranian oil as most insurance is undertaken by EU-based companies and the move comes as part of a series of measures designed to put pressure on Iran to halt what the United States and others say is a nuclear weapons program... The world's fourth largest buyer of Iranian crude said it has no plan to provide state guarantee like Japan to continue its imports. Another two major Asian buyers, China and India, will allow Iran to deliver the crude from July. 'South Korea's imports of Iranian oil will be suspended, as the EU will suspend crude imports from Iran and also halt its insurance and reinsurance cover on the crude imports from July 1,' a joint statement from the economy, finance and foreign affairs ministries said." http://t.uani.com/MPdckX Reuters: "EU governments on Monday formally approved an embargo on Iranian oil to start on July 1, dismissing calls by debt-ridden Greece for possible exemptions to help ease its economic crisis. They also warned Iran that more pressure could be put in place if it continued to defy international demands for limits on its nuclear programme, which they say is geared to developing weapons. The Islamic Republic says its nuclear activity is for electricity production and other peaceful ends only. 'It is important that the Iranian leaders understand the resolve of the countries of the European Union on this,' British Foreign Secretary William Hague said. 'We will go on intensifying the economic pressure until the world can be satisfied that Iran's nuclear programme is for peaceful purposes.'" http://t.uani.com/Ld86ga WSJ: "A sharp fall in oil prices is helping the U.S. and the European Union clamp down on Iranian oil exports in the coming days with less fear that the sanctions will spark a price rise that would harm the global economy. The EU on Monday ratified its decision to start an embargo against Iranian oil on July 1. British Foreign Secretary William Hague called the current sanctions regime the toughest ever, and said the U.K. would push for intensified sanctions if progress isn't made in nuclear talks with Tehran. The U.S. benchmark oil price fell again on Monday, closing at $79.21 a barrel in New York trading, from more than $109 in February. Lower prices give the U.S. and EU a measure of flexibility they didn't have at the beginning of the year, when the Obama administration decided to ratchet up pressure on Iran by targeting the country's central bank. The main worry at the time was that by curtailing Iran's oil exports, the U.S. might trigger a price jump that in turn would undermine any prospect of economic recovery this year." http://t.uani.com/LMPrai   Nuclear Program     Reuters: "Iran on Tuesday urged the European Union to reconsider an embargo on Iranian oil that comes into effect on July 1, saying it wanted engagement and not confrontation with the bloc. EU governments on Monday formally approved the embargo, dismissing calls by debt-ridden Greece for exemptions to help ease its economic crisis. 'We hope that the European Union looks into the matter with more rationality and wisdom because I think nobody benefits from confrontation,' Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi told journalists in Cyprus. 'The benefit lies in engagement, and I think they are on the wrong track.'" http://t.uani.com/LyLGIN NYT: "President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia conferred with Israeli leaders on Monday during a 24-hour visit that juxtaposed the much improved ties between the countries with their sharp differences, chief among them the Iranian nuclear program... At a joint news conference after their meeting, Mr. Netanyahu said he and Mr. Putin had agreed that the prospect of a nuclear-armed Iran 'presents a grave danger first of all to Israel, and to the region and the world as a whole.'" http://t.uani.com/M0bKOw Sanctions Bloomberg: "Iran's oil exports may 'gradually' decline by 20 percent to 30 percent after sanctions start next week amid field maintenance work, according to Deputy Oil Minister Ahmad Ghalebani.  Iran is planning to carry out field workovers and reservoir maintenance on oil fields just as the European Union sanctions begin, Ghalebani told reporters today at an energy conference in Moscow. Imports by China, India, Korea and South Africa may drop in the 'short term,' although the countries will need Iranian energy to feed growing demand, said Ghalebani, who is also head of National Iranian Oil Co. An EU embargo aimed at derailing Iran's nuclear enrichment program will come into effect July 1 after talks with the Persian Gulf state failed to reach a breakthrough... Iran's May crude production rate was 3.14 million barrels a day, according to the OPEC secretariat's secondary sources, and 3.76 million barrels a day according to a direct communication from Iran's government, the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries said in its latest monthly report on June 12." http://t.uani.com/LyNgdA Reuters: "Iran's main oil shipper NITC has delayed the expansion of its oil tanker fleet, industry sources said, as tough Western sanctions on the OPEC member's crude exports and a weak freight market hurt the company's ability to turn a profit. The delay could indicate that NITC has enough capacity with its existing 39-tanker fleet to deliver crude to its Asian customers, which have cut purchases by about a fifth from last year's 1.45 million barrels per day in preparation for new European Union sanctions against Tehran. Iranian tankers will be the only vessels able to transport the Islamic Republic's crude to its two top importers, China and India, once the sanctions come into effect on Sunday. A senior NITC official told Reuters the firm has yet to take delivery of a 318,000 deadweight ton tanker named 'Safe,' the first of 12 new supertankers the firm will manage under a $1.2 billion contract with Chinese shipyards. Delivery was initially scheduled for May... It was not clear when NITC will take the tanker, capable of carrying 2 million barrels of crude, nor whether delivery of the other vessels will also be delayed. Another seven very large crude carriers (VLCCs) are scheduled for delivery by the end of this year from two Chinese shipyards, and the remaining four are expected to be commissioned by the end of 2013." http://t.uani.com/OmbtWt Bloomberg: "NITC, an oil-tanker company owned by Iranian pension funds, renamed at least 10 of its vessels and switched them to a Tanzanian flag amid increasing curbs on transactions with the Persian Gulf nation. NITC renamed five very large crude carriers, each holding about 2 million barrels of oil, and five Suezmaxes, hauling 1 million barrels, according to the Equasis shipping database maintained by the European Commission. Ownership was switched from NITC to new companies operating from the same address in Tehran and NITC remains the operator, the data show. All the ships were previously registered in Malta or Cyprus." http://t.uani.com/MRZCwX Bloomberg: "Iran plans to increase steel output, becoming an exporter of the metal, after U.S.-led sanctions over the country's nuclear program reduced imports by 30 percent, an executive from the Islamic republic's Esfahan Steel Co. said. 'Imports became difficult,' Mansour Yazdizadeh, deputy managing director at Esfahan, told a Metal Bulletin conference in Moscow, as sanctions on international payments were enforced. Iran plans to raise steel output to 55 million metric tons by 2025, from 13.4 million tons last year, when it imported 5.4 million tons, Yazdizadeh said. The country's steel consumption is set to more than double to 44 million tons by 2025, he said. Russian companies including OAO Magnitogorsk Iron & Steel and Metalloinvest (METIN) have been supplying steel to Iran." http://t.uani.com/MUZJEz Terrorism AFP: "A Kenyan court charged two Iranian nationals with illegal possession of explosives Monday, a day after a grenade attack on a bar in the southern city of Mombasa that killed three people. The Iranians, whom police said they arrested last week over suspected links to a terror network planning bombings in Mombasa and Nairobi, are accused of possessing 15 kilos (33 pounds) of the powerful explosive RDX, according to the charge sheet presented in court. The pair, Ahmed Mohamud and Said Mausud, were 'armed with intent to commit a felony known as grievous harm', the charge sheet said." http://t.uani.com/Omc0ri  Domestic Politics RFE/RL: "But perhaps more significantly, Iran's official state-run news agency, IRNA, was also quick to cast doubt on the interview. The incident provides the latest example of how the ongoing power struggle in the Iranian establishment has apparently pitted IRNA, which is pro-President Mahmud Ahmadinejad, against Fars, which is said to be affiliated with Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC)." http://t.uani.com/LMP27z Foreign Affairs Reuters: "An Iranian news agency said Egypt's Islamist President-elect Mohamed Mursi had voiced interest in restoring long-severed ties with Tehran to create a strategic 'balance' in the region, but a Mursi aide denied the interview ever took place. Iran's Fars agency said it spoke to Mursi a few hours before Sunday's election results were announced and quoted him saying the two countries should get closer - comments that go counter to Western efforts to isolate Tehran over its nuclear program. 'We must restore normal relations with Iran based on shared interests, and expand areas of political coordination and economic cooperation because this will create a balance of pressure in the region,' the semi-official news agency quoted Mursi as saying in a transcript of the interview. Yasser Ali, a Mursi aide, told Reuters: 'There was never a meeting with the Iranian news agency Fars and what was taken as statements has no basis in truth.'" http://t.uani.com/Ns4SVD Reuters: "Iran's ambassador to Azerbaijan, withdrawn last month in protest at Baku's hosting of the Eurovision Song Contest, has returned to his post in a sign of easing tension between the Caspian Sea neighbors. Tehran recalled its ambassador for consultations after Iranian clerics criticized Baku for hosting the flamboyant annual pageant of European pop, capping months of accusations by the two countries of meddling in each other's affairs. 'Iranian ambassador Mr. (Mohammad Bagir) Bahrami returned to Baku and resumed ... his duties,' the embassy spokesman said on Monday." http://t.uani.com/MyqNe0 Opinion & Analysis Anthony H. Cordesman & Alexander Wilner in CSIS: "In the wake of recent failed negotiations over Iran's nuclear program, it seems increasingly unlikely that a political solution will be reached regarding Tehran's increasing uranium enrichment. As a result, some form of military clash between the US and Iran, while by no means certain, is becoming increasingly likely. Such a clash can take many different forms, and each presents different levels of risk. Although many reports and analyses tend to focus on Iran's missile forces and burgeoning nuclear capability, Iran's steady build-up of asymmetric forces presents a threat to both Gulf commerce and the military forces of both the US and its regional allies, at least in the opening stages of a conflict. Unlike Iran's missile forces, these forces are difficult to detect and counter, and can be used with a degree of deniability to harass or disrupt military operations and commerce in the Gulf. The Burke Chair at CSIS has substantially updated and expanded its analysis of Iranian military forces to reflect recent events, as well as comments on the previous draft. Moreover, unlike previous versions, this analysis includes extensive reporting on arms transfers to the US' Gulf allies in the last decade, which have had a significant impact on the balance of forces in the Gulf. The first part of this analysis is entitled 'Iran and the Gulf Military Balance I: The Conventional and Asymmetric Dimensions.'" http://t.uani.com/LMR7Ax Eye on Iran is a periodic news summary from United Against Nuclear Iran (UANI) a program of the American Coalition Against Nuclear Iran, Inc., a tax-exempt organization under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. Eye on Iran is not intended as a comprehensive media clips summary but rather a selection of media elements with discreet analysis in a PDA friendly format. For more information please email Press@UnitedAgainstNuclearIran.com United Against Nuclear Iran (UANI) is a non-partisan, broad-based coalition that is united in a commitment to prevent Iran from fulfilling its ambition to become a regional super-power possessing nuclear weapons.  UANI is an issue-based coalition in which each coalition member will have its own interests as well as the collective goal of advancing an Iran free of nuclear weapons.