Reuters: Lloyd’s Register, a leading maritime risk management firm, has shut its operations in Iran and can no longer vouch for the safety of the OPEC member’s fleet due to Western sanctions, the head of the company told Reuters.
Lloyd’s Register withdraws from Iran due to sanctions
Exclusive – South Korea’s Iran crude imports to plunge from June – sources
Reuters: South Korea will make sharp cuts in imports of Iranian crude from June as tightening Western sanctions make it impossible to secure insurance cover for tankers to ship the crude, industry and company sources said.
Japan’s crude imports from Iran drop as sanctions bite
Reuters: Japan’s customs-cleared crude imports from Iran fell 6.3 percent in March from a year ago, ahead of a sharp drop expected in April and May due to difficulty in doing business with the Islamic Republic amid tighter Western sanctions.
4 Iran Guards killed in clashes with Kurd rebels
AP: Four troops from Iran’s powerful Revolutionary Guards have been killed in clashes with Kurdish rebels in western Iran, the semi-official Mehr news agency reported Wednesday. Eight others were wounded.
British man gets $1M bail in Iran missile case
AP: A judge granted a $1 million bail Monday for a British man who was extradited to Texas to face charges that he tried to sell missile parts to Iran.
Iran says new US sanctions could affect talks
AFP: Iran on Tuesday warned that new US sanctions targeting its access to surveillance technology were “negative” and could adversely affect its crucial talks next month with world powers over Tehran’s nuclear programme.
Exclusive: Half Iran tanker fleet storing oil at sea
Reuters: Iran has been forced to deploy more than half its fleet of supertankers to store oil at anchorage in the Gulf as buyers of its crude cut back because of sanctions, two Iran-based shipping sources said.
Iran oil sector hit by ‘cyber attack’
AFP: A voracious virus attack has hit computers running key parts of Iran’s oil sector, forcing authorities to unplug its main oil export terminal from the Internet and to set up a cyber crisis team, according to reports on Monday.
Obama unveils Syria, Iran technology sanctions
AFP: US President Barack Obama Monday ordered new sanctions on Syria and Iran and the “digital guns for hire” who help them oppress their people with surveillance software and monitoring technology.
Iraq PM in Iran for 2-day visit
AFP: Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki arrived in Tehran on Sunday for two days of meetings with Iranian leaders and senior officials on various bilateral issues, Iran’s IRNA state news agency reported.
