Tehran, Iraq need to maintain vigilance in face of enemies’ plots: Iranian Oil Minister Mohsen Paknejad

 

The file photo shows an Iranian oil tanker belonging to National Iranian Tanker Company.

Iranian Oil Minister Mohsen Paknejad says Iran and Iraq should maintain their vigilance in the face of enemies’ plots.

Paknejad made the remark in a phone conversation with Iraq's Oil Minister Hayan Abdel-Ghani on Wednesday, during which he reiterated that Iran is selling its oil within the accepted framework of interaction on oil trade.

The two ministers also discussed issues of common interests during he phone call.

This came after the Iraqi oil minister claimed that Iranian oil tankers seized by US forces in the Persian Gulf were using forged Iraqi documents.

"We received some verbal inquiries about oil tankers being detained in the [Persian] Gulf by US naval forces carrying Iraqi shipping manifests," Abdel-Ghani said on state television on Sunday, adding that there had been no formal written communication.

Iran’s Ministry of Petroleum was quick to categorically reject the accusation and said the Iraqi oil minister had made the claim quoting American officials's remarks.

“The Iraqi oil minister’s remarks have been reflected incompletely and that he made the allegation based on what American officials had said,” Iran’s Deputy Oil Minister for International and Commercial Affairs Alimohammad Mousavi said on Monday.

“It is clear that such claims by the American officials, which are in line with this country’s illegal and unjustified policy to level unfounded accusations and exert pressure on the Iranian nation, have no basis or credibility,” he added.

Mousavi also emphasized that Iran’s oil sales are being carried out based on all accepted criteria and regulations related to oil trade.

Such “negative and malicious maneuvering” will have no impact on the Iranian oil ministry’s determination to fulfill its legal duties and responsibilities, he pointed out.

Since taking office in January, US President Donald Trump's administration has reinstated the so-called maximum pressure policy, a campaign of hybrid warfare targeting the Islamic Republic.

On March 20, the United States Department of the Treasury on March 20 imposed a new round of sanctions against Iran, targeting several entities, including independent Chinese teapot refineries, as well as vessels that supplied crude oil to these processing plants.

On March 13, the Treasury Department also issued sanctions against the Iranian oil minister and some vessels that are part of a fleet involved in Iranian crude oil exports.

In a phone call with his Iraqi counterpart, Fuad Mohammed Hussei,n on Tuesday, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said the American officials are leveling accusations against Iran to exert pressure on the country.

These claims and allegations have no legal basis and lack credibility, he added.

"The neighboring and friendly countries are expected to be vigilant in the face of the inciting sedition and division caused by the US, which has no intention but to destroy the friendly relations between regional countries in line with the sinister goals of the Zionist regime,” Araghchi emphasized.