Iran sent tankers back to key oil facility, in sign it believes an Israeli attack was averted
Iran has sent its oil tankers back to a key Persian Gulf oil export hub after evacuating them last week, in a sign that Tehran may believe it skirted an Israeli strike on one of its most important energy facilities.
Two VLCC supertankers belonging to The National Iranian Tanker Company (NITC) are now loading oil at Kharg island, home to a massive terminal from which 90 percent of the Islamic Republic’s oil is exported, according to data shared with Middle East Eye by TankerTrackers.com. An Aframax tanker not owned by NITC is also loading there.
That means Iran is exporting 4.7 to 4.9 million barrels of oil on bulky, easily targeted tankers, even as it girds for what Israel says will be a "significant retaliation" to last week’s massive ballistic missile attack.
US President Joe Biden jolted oil markets last week when he said the US and Israel were discussing strikes on oil facilities. He later walked back the comments, saying, “If I were in their shoes, I would be thinking about other alternatives than striking Iranian oil fields”.
The NITC’s decision to send vessels back to Kharg Island means Iran now appears to be in a “risk-off mode”, Samir Madani, chief executive of TankerTrackers.com, told MEE.