More Iranian oil likely to reach North Korea after nuclear deal: CRS report

ISNA - Iranian Students' News Agency

Mon 7 Dec 2015 - 14:42

TEHRAN (ISNA)- More Iranian oil is expected to reach North Korea after the removal of international sanctions on Iran under a deal on Tehran's nuclear program, a congressional report said.

The Congressional Research Service made the assessment in a recent report on Iran's foreign policy, saying that Tehran and Pyongyang have been subjected to wide-ranging int'l sanctions.

Though the North has never announced a public commitment to comply with international sanctions against Iran, the communist nation's economy is too small to significantly help Iran, the report said.

According to some observers, however, a portion of China's purchases of oil from Iran and other suppliers is re-exported to North Korea, the report said.

'As Iran's oil imports increase after international sanctions are removed in conjunction with the JCPOA, it is likely that additional quantities of Iranian oil might reach North Korea, either via China or through direct purchasing by North Korea,' it said.

JCPOA is the acronym for the Iranian nuclear deal, the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, which Tehran and P5+1 announced in July.

South Korea and Japan together hold a significant portion of the approximately $115 billion of Iran's foreign exchange reserves that are held abroad because the U.S. sanctions require oil buyers to pay Iran by depositing money in local accounts in their respective countries, which Iran can then use to purchase goods in that country, the report said.

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