Report: BP stops refueling Iranian airliners
Financial Times says one of world's largest suppliers of jet fuel stopped working with Iranian airliners 'in compliance with international sanctions'
British Petroleum (BP) has stopped supplying Iranian airliners with jet fuel in response to new US sanctions imposed on the Islamic republic, the Financial Times reported Monday.
According to unilateral measures signed into law by US President Barack Obama last week, the US will impose penalties on any international company selling or providing Iran with refined petroleum products with a fair market value of $1 million or more. The same measures would also apply to any such sales totaling $5 million or more during a 12-month period.
The Financial Times said BP, one of the, the company world’s largest suppliers of jet fuel, refused to discuss its dealings with individual airlines, but did say, “We fully comply with any international sanctions in any areas in which we operate.”
A source in the Gulf familiar with the issue was quoted by the British newspaper as saying, “An international jet fuel supplier in many international airports around the world has decided to cease refueling Iranian aircraft, including at two terminals in the United Arab Emirates.
“Iranian air operators at UAE airports have other sources to refuel. The UAE will continue to abide by United Nations resolutions and will continue to operate within this framework,” the source was quoted by the Financial Times as saying.
According to the report, BP’s decision has affected one terminal in Dubai airport and another in Sharjah airport in the UAE, the Middle East’s business and air transport hub. But Iranian airliners have been able to switch to other suppliers, the newspaper said.
Iran had earlier accused Germany, Britain and the UAE of refusing to refuel its passenger jets in response to US sanctions.
The Financial Times said US officials such as Stuart Levey, the Treasury undersecretary who has taken charge of much of the sanctions drive, have called on companies to refrain from doing business with Iran because of the risk of unwittingly becoming involved with a blacklisted group, such as a subsidiary of the Revolutionary Guard.
