Iran has allowed a number of Iraqi oil tankers to pass through the Strait of Hormuz following repeated requests from Baghdad, Iran’s state news agency reported on Saturday. Meanwhile, the United States and Iran exchanged defiant messages ahead of Monday’s scheduled announcement of new US economic sanctions. Follow our liveblog for the latest updates.
Turkey seeks arrest warrant for Israeli PM Netanyahu, fueling tensions
Turkey and Israel traded insults on Friday, after Ankara announced it was seeking an international arrest warrant for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, accusing him of “genocide” because of the interception of an aid flotilla bound for Gaza. Netanyahu’s office accused Turkey of hypocrisy. Our correspondent in Turkey Jasper Mortimer analyses the situation.
Repair of Iran’s South Pars phase 14 refinery is 70% complete, says SHANA
The repair of Iran’s South Pars Phase 14 gas refinery, hit during an Israeli attack in June last year, is 70% complete, the Pars Oil and Gas Company’s chief executive said, according to Iran’s oil ministry news agency SHANA.
The refinery would be fully restored by the end of the year, CEO Touraj Dehqani said, and the damaged section will be fully integrated into the production cycle, he added.
US and Iran keep up hostile rhetoric ahead of new sanctions
The United States and Iran exchanged defiant messages ahead of Monday’s scheduled announcement of new US economic sanctions that could impact the Islamic Republic and Tehran’s most important trading partners including China.
Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei said on Saturday that the imminent US announcement of new economic sanctions on Iran was an “assertion of extraterritorial sovereignty over every independent member state of the United Nations.”
US President Donald Trump, who has warned of economic consequences against any country that provides “any type of lifeline to Iran,” said on Friday that Washington was observing “what happens” in the conflict.
Iranian official urges Qatar to move detained pilots to hospital on land, Tasnim says
An Iranian military official called on Qatar on Saturday to transfer detained Iranian pilots to a hospital on land, saying they were being held on water and were in “poor physical condition”, Tasnim news agency reported.
Mohammad Baqerzadeh, commander of the Committee for the Search for Missing Persons of Iran’s Armed Forces General Staff, said the location where the pilots were being held was unsuitable and requested that the International Committee of the Red Cross send an air ambulance to Qatar to expedite the return of injured and sick detainees to Iran.
Iran grants permission for Iraqi oil tankers to pass through Strait of Hormuz,
Iran has granted permission for a number of Iraqi oil tankers to pass through the Strait of Hormuz following repeated requests from Baghdad through various channels, Iran’s state news agency IRNA reported on Saturday.
IRNA said obtaining special permission for Iraqi tankers was one of Baghdad’s main requests during Iranian parliament speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf’s visit to Iraq.
US President Donald Trump said he did not think that Iran was ready make the “right deal”, and that Washington was observing “what happens” in the conflict.
The Strait of Hormuz remained bottled up with thousands of seafarers stranded on hundreds of vessels, ship-tracking data showed.
