Iranian money, oil and food are propping up the Syrian regime

A new investigation by Reuters reveals that millions of barrels of Iraqi crude oil have been delivered this year, under the radar, to the Syrian government through Lebanese and Egyptian trading companies, on board Iranian ships. The investigation, based on an examination of previously undisclosed shipping and payments documents, claims these previously unknown shipments, in addition to more known ones of Iranian crude oil, have kept the Assad regime going in spite of the international sanctions.

Both the Syrian national oil company that received the oil, Sytrol, and the Iranian shipping operator that delivered it, the National Iranian Tanker Co (NITC), are on US and EU sanctions lists. Although firms outside the US and EU are not subject to sanctions, companies that do business with firms on sanctions lists risk being blacklisted themselves. Indeed, at least four firms from third countries were added to the US sanctions list for Iran in December 2013 due to their links to NITC.

Source: http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/12/23/us-syria-oil-idUSBRE9BM0RI20131223

Meanwhile, another investigation reveals that the Syrian government is tendering for large quantities of foods, such as flour, sugar and rice, through an “Iranian credit line”, meaning sellers are asked to accept payments through Iranian funds under an agreement between the Commercial Bank of Syria and the Export Development Bank of Iran. Moreover, most of the offers made for one of the two tenders exposed were apparently made by Iranian firms, which were offering rice and sugar “available inside Iran.”

Source: http://www.dailystar.com.lb/Business/Middle-East/2013/Dec-24/242189-syria-issues-second-food-tender-using-iranian-credit.ashx

NOTE FROM THE EDITOR:
Needless to say, this oil and food are not going to the civilian population in Syria, who are literally dying from cold and starvation. They are, rather, going to the regime forces and the militias and thugs fighting alongside them. Without this Iranian help, the Syrian regime would have long collapsed and so many lives would have been saved. The Reuters article puts its finger on it when it describes the oil shipments as “Assad’s secret lifeline.”

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