WASHINGTON, D.C. –U.S. Senator Angus King (I-ME) joined a bipartisan group of his colleagues to urge a global crackdown on the transport of Iranian oil which is in violation of U.S. sanctions. In a letter to the Panama Maritime Authority (AMP), King and his colleagues ask the Panamanian government to investigate the 189 Panamanian-flagged vessels of concern suspected of transporting Iranian oil in violation of U.S. sanctions. The U.S. imposed sanctions on Iranian oil in 2018 and 2019 were designed to cut off a significant source of revenue the regime uses to fund terrorist organizations like Hezbollah and Hamas, cartel activity, nuclear proliferation, and other nefarious activity in the Middle East and the Western Hemisphere.

Iran uses “ghost fleets,” vessels marked with the flags of other nations, as a loop hole to export oil—and 49% of these vessels hold the Panamanian flag. Using open-source data, the nonprofit United Against Nuclear Iran (UANI) has identified 383 suspected “ghost fleet” vessels, including 189 Panamanian-flagged vessels.

“From supporting proxy groups like Hezbollah and Hamas, to backing the brutal Syrian regime, to accelerating its nuclear, drone, and ballistic missile programs, to killing hundreds and arresting thousands of its own people in violent crackdowns on domestic protests, Iran consistently works in opposition to peace, stability, democracy, and shared American values and interests across the Middle East,” the Senators wrote. “…Thanks to the ghost fleet, Iran has been able to export hundreds of millions of barrels of Iranian oil in recent years, which ultimately fund the regime’s continued human rights violations, proxy forces, and nuclear proliferation program.”

Compared to other countries, including other flag of convenience states, Panama has not acted as diligently to investigate and de-flag vessels of concern based on UANI’s notifications. A stronger effort from Panama would greatly reduce the number of vessels transporting Iranian oil, which would limit Iran’s revenue.

As a senior member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, and Chair of the Subcommittee on Strategic Forces, Senator King is an active, vocal supporter of the importance of democratic values and defeating terrorism. Last week, Senator King reflected on his early January trip to the Middle East by warning that continued Houthi attacks, an Iranian-backed terrorist proxy, on international shipping lanes would warrant a response. Senator King has also been outspoken on the need to defeat Hamas, another Iranian-backed terrorist proxy based in Gaza, that massacred over a thousand innocent Israeli citizens, committed mass gender-based violence including rape, and took hundreds hostage.

In addition to King, U.S. Senators Bob Casey (D-PA), Marco Rubio (R-FL) Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), James Risch (R-ID), Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), Roger Wicker (R-MS), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Chuck Grassley (R-IA), Jacky Rosen (D-NV), John Kennedy (R-LA), Joe Manchin (D-WV), Rick Scott (R-FL), Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV), Pete Ricketts (R-NE), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Mike Bruan (R-IN), John Cornyn (R-TX), John Fetterman (D-PA), Maggie Hassan (D-NH), Mark Kelly (D-AZ), and Peter Welch (D-VT) also signed the letter.

The full text of the letter is below or can be found here.

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We write to you in light of our shared belief that Panama is a strong, democratic ally and a crucial trade and security partner of the United States. As you know, it has been bipartisan U.S. policy for decades to deprive Iran of the financing and resources it uses to fund international terrorism. In addition to threatening regional security in the Middle East, Iran has been credibly linked to transnational criminal activity and terrorism in our own hemisphere.¹ We therefore request that you cooperate with the United States and conduct investigations into a significant number of ships registered in Panama which are alleged to transport Iranian oil in violation of U.S. sanctions.

The United States has enacted a series of sanctions on the Iranian regime in response to and in condemnation of Iran’s serious human rights abuses and state sponsorship of terrorism. From supporting proxy groups like Hezbollah and Hamas, to backing the brutal Syrian regime, to accelerating its nuclear, drone, and ballistic missile programs, to killing hundreds and arresting thousands of its own people in violent crackdowns on domestic protests, Iran consistently works in opposition to peace, stability, democracy, and shared American values and interests across the Middle East. Hamas’ barbaric attack on Israeli civilians on October 7 highlights the urgency of depriving this regime of the funding it uses to advance its evil agenda.

In our own hemisphere, we note Iran’s involvement in the heinous 1994 bombing of the Asociación Mutual Israelita Argentina (AMIA), which killed 85 people.² We further note Iran’s ongoing support to the authoritarian regime of Nicolas Maduro in Venezuela, as well as the participation of Hezbollah, one of Iran’s proxy groups, in narcotics and weapons trafficking in the western hemisphere. 

Roughly a quarter of Iran’s revenue is derived from oil exports. In 2018 and 2019, the United States imposed sanctions on Iranian oil that significantly restricted these exports. In recent years, Iran and its buyers have used a “ghost fleet” of vessels employing creative techniques to conceal the origin of Iranian oil, allowing Iran’s oil revenues to rebound. These techniques include transferring oil between tankers at sea, turning off GPS trackers before docking in Iran, repainting vessels mid-journey, “flag hopping” between different national registries, and labeling oil as different types of fuels. Thanks to the ghost fleet, Iran has been able to export hundreds of millions of barrels of Iranian oil in recent years, which ultimately fund the regime’s continued human rights violations, terrorist proxy forces, and nuclear proliferation program.

We respectfully ask that you thoroughly investigate the alleged involvement of these 189 ships in transporting sanctioned Iranian oil and follow your established procedures to de-flag ships whose involvement is corroborated by available evidence, decline to flag such vessels again in the future, and extend similar scrutiny to vessels under suspicion of evading sanctions on other countries.

We hope this issue can be given the urgent attention that it merits and serve as another example of the historic cooperation between our countries to advance international peace and security. We appreciate your time and attention to this crucial issue.

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