Hezbollah Storing Iranian Arms at Beirut Airport Raises Alarms

Owji said on Sunday that the administration of late president Ebrahim Raisi did not offer "high discounts" to its buyers, tacitly referring to Chinese refineries that are the main importers of Iran’s crude.

He said that over the past three years, significantly fewer discounts have been given compared to the previous government.

Tehran keeps its export and revenue details as state secret but Owji’s remarks come despite reports that Tehran provides huge discounts to China, charging as little as $37 per barrel while oil has been trading at around 75-85 dollars in the past year. According to a report by Reuters Iran offers at least $13/barrel discount to Chinese refineries.

In May 2023, an analyst quoted an unnamed EU energy security source as saying that China, which already had secured a 30-percent discount from Iran before the Russian invasion of Ukraine, demanded and received higher price cuts. Beijing already buys Russian oil at a large discount.

“But it is even worse for Iran, as – from 11 November 2022 - China has been paying Iran in non-convertible Yuan, that is Yuan that can only be used inside China and/or spent buying Chinese goods,” the EU source added. “Worse still is that whilst Yuan is the key instrument in payment, China is also using the currencies of Angola, Zambia and Kenya to pay Iran, and China is doing this as a means to induce Iran to buys goods from these countries so that these countries, in turn, can service their loans to China,” he argued.

Last June, The Wall Street Journal reported that Iran was exporting the highest amount of crude oil in five years, although it offers discounts of up to $30 per barrel. The report confirmed estimates that Iran shipped 1.6 million barrels per day in May and June, up from 250,000 barrels in 2019 and 2020, just after the United States imposed full sanctions.

Data from oil tanker tracking companies like Vortexa and TankerTrackers shows that Iran exported roughly 1.3 million barrels per day (bpd) of crude oil and condensate in 2023, along with over 220,000 bpd of fuel oil (mazut).

OPEC estimated the price of Iranian oil exports in 2023, excluding discounts and sanctions-busting costs, to be above $83 per barrel. Based on this, Iran's revenue from crude oil, condensate, and fuel oil exports should have been at least $46 billion. However, Iranian customs data reveals the actual figure was only $36 billion.

This $10 billion discrepancy suggests that around 22% of Iran's oil revenue was lost due to high discounts and sanctions-related costs.

Another way to look at the issue is that Iran needs around $50 billion from oil exports to balance its budget, but at least half of that amount is not realized. This means it receives around $25 billion in hard currency.

Another reason for Iran’s oil revenues being probably around $25 billion is the costs involved in illicit shipments to evade sanctions, and losing money in trying to repatriate the funds in hard currencies. Iran’s banking system is under US sanction and any oil revenues are laundered through intermediaries.

This issue resonated during the recent Iranian presidential election. Candidates Masoud Pezeshkan and Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf both directly and indirectly criticized the impact of sanctions, high discounts, and wasted revenue from oil exports.

Despite the evidence, the oil minister continues to insist on his claim of not offering high discounts. He stated that Iran currently has 15 oil buyers, but only named China and Syria, leaving the identities of the remaining "customers" undisclosed.

Adding to the confusion, Oji claimed Iran's daily crude oil production has reached 3.6 million bpd. This contradicts figures from OPEC and the International Energy Agency, which estimate the actual production to be below 3.3 million bpd. 

"While encouraging all the great chess community of the country to participate enthusiastically and widely in the elections, by the order of the Ministry of Sports, any sports activities, including holding competitions, training courses, and classes, etc. are prohibited from June 27-30, 2024," said the statement from the Ministry of Sport.

If the elections extend to a second stage, the suspension will also apply from July 4 to July 7, 2024, it added.

The federation did not provide further explanation for its decision or specify how training classes or chess tournaments could impede the presidential elections.

It comes as record low turnout is expected for the snap election on June 28. The elections were called after President Ebrahim Raisi died in a freak helicopter crash last month along with his delegation.

Latest polls predict at least two thirds of Iran will abstain from the sham vote which offers six candidates, hand chosen by the country's supreme leader.

Goljahan Ashrafpour, the mother of Akbar Mohammadi, a student activist who died in prison, called the elections "a charade", speaking from her hospital bed.

Atash Shakrami, the aunt of 16-year-old Nika Shakrami, a protestor killed during Iran’s 2022 nationwide uprising, spoke out on Instagram.

"The hands of every government agent are stained with the blood of the nation's children," she stated, underscoring the pain and anger felt by many families who have lost loved ones under the regime oppression.

Writing on Instagram, Foad Choobin, the uncle of 17-year-old Artin Rahmani, killed during the protests in November 2022, reminded the public of the tragic events that took his nephew's life.

"We will not forget that in November 2022, agents of the Islamic Republic shot at us and killed Artin...we will not participate in this election circus…we will not vote for any of the 6 candidates who whitewash Khamenei’s crimes," he wrote.

In recent days many activists, student unions, and prominent opposition figures of the Islamic Republic have called for the boycott of the elections.

Like the March parliamentary elections, turnout is expected to be at record lows. At least two thirds of Iranians revealed they do not plan to vote, according to latest figures.

Snap elections take place on June 28 after the sudden death of Ebrahim Raisi in a freak helicopter crash last month.

In a statement by 250 Iranian MPs on Saturday, they described Canada's designation of the IRGC as "unwise" and "stupid." They further declared their solidarity with the IRGC by stating, "Each representative considers themselves to be a Revolutionary Guard."

Canada’s federal government listed the IRGC as a terrorist entity under its Criminal Code last week.

In a statement, Dominic LeBlanc, Minister of Public Safety, said: "Based on their actions, there are reasonable grounds to believe that the IRGC has knowingly carried out, attempted to carry out, participated in or facilitated a terrorist activity, or has knowingly acted on behalf of, at the direction of, or in association with an entity that has knowingly carried out terrorist activity."

Shortly after the announcement, the Canadian Foreign Minister warned against travel to Iran, highlighting heightened risks of arbitrary detention for Canadian citizens amid Iran's hostage-taking policy.

The release of the vehicles comes in the wake of the third televised debate among Iran’s six presidential candidates, where "cultural issues," including the country’s mandatory hijab laws, took center stage.

During the debate, some candidates addressed the hijab law directly, with conservative candidate Pourmohammadi pledging to withdraw the hijab bill if elected. However, the ultimate decision-making power remains with Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, a staunch proponent of the hijab mandate.

Iran’s recent intensified hijab crackdowns were initiated following Plan Nour, a directive by Supreme Leader Khamenei on April 13, as part of Iran’s Hijab and Chastity bill. It led to the arrest of hundreds of women across various cities in Iran and was dubbed "gender apartheid" by the United Nations.