South Korea did not import any oil from Iran in September for the first time in six years, before US sanctions against the Middle East country take effect in November, customs data showed on Monday.
The last time South Korea did not import oil from Iran was September 2012, according to customs data.
South Korean buyers, among major Asian buyers of Iranian oil, suspended Iranian oil loading from July due to the uncertainty of getting a waiver from the US government.
The South Korean government has been in talks with the US government to get exemptions on Iran crude imports. During the previous rounds of sanctions from 2012 to 2015, South Korea could buy Iranian oil by capping its Iranian oil imports volume.
An American government official said in early October that the US government was actively considering waivers on sanctions for countries that are lowering their imports of Iranian oil.
Oil imports from Iran have declined for the past months. In the first nine months of the year, South Korea's imports of Iranian oil dropped 49.1 percent to 7.15 million tonnes, compared with the same period a year earlier, according to the data.
In total, the world's fifth-largest crude buyer, imported 10.83 million tonnes of crude oil in September, down 11.8 percent from 12.28 million tonnes a year earlier.
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Read more:
US is seeking regime change in Iran, Rouhani says
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Imports from Saudi Arabia, South Korea's top crude supplier, were 3.41 million tonnes in September, down 6.9 per cent from 3.67 million tonnes a year earlier.
Meanwhile, South Korea's imports of US crude increased five-fold to 668,704 tonnes in September from 131,125 tonnes last year, the data showed.
In the January-September period of the year, 110.45 million tonnes of crude oil, were imported into South Korea, nearly unchanged from 110.44 million tonnes over the same period last year.
State-run Korea National Oil Corp (KNOC) will release South Korea's final September crude oil imports data later this month.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Bombshell
Director: Jay Roach
Stars: Nicole Kidman, Charlize Theron, Margot Robbie
Four out of five stars
The smuggler
Eldarir had arrived at JFK in January 2020 with three suitcases, containing goods he valued at $300, when he was directed to a search area.
Officers found 41 gold artefacts among the bags, including amulets from a funerary set which prepared the deceased for the afterlife.
Also found was a cartouche of a Ptolemaic king on a relief that was originally part of a royal building or temple.
The largest single group of items found in Eldarir’s cases were 400 shabtis, or figurines.
Khouli conviction
Khouli smuggled items into the US by making false declarations to customs about the country of origin and value of the items.
According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, he provided “false provenances which stated that [two] Egyptian antiquities were part of a collection assembled by Khouli's father in Israel in the 1960s” when in fact “Khouli acquired the Egyptian antiquities from other dealers”.
He was sentenced to one year of probation, six months of home confinement and 200 hours of community service in 2012 after admitting buying and smuggling Egyptian antiquities, including coffins, funerary boats and limestone figures.
For sale
A number of other items said to come from the collection of Ezeldeen Taha Eldarir are currently or recently for sale.
Their provenance is described in near identical terms as the British Museum shabti: bought from Salahaddin Sirmali, "authenticated and appraised" by Hossen Rashed, then imported to the US in 1948.
- An Egyptian Mummy mask dating from 700BC-30BC, is on offer for £11,807 ($15,275) online by a seller in Mexico
- A coffin lid dating back to 664BC-332BC was offered for sale by a Colorado-based art dealer, with a starting price of $65,000
- A shabti that was on sale through a Chicago-based coin dealer, dating from 1567BC-1085BC, is up for $1,950
At a glance
Global events: Much of the UK’s economic woes were blamed on “increased global uncertainty”, which can be interpreted as the economic impact of the Ukraine war and the uncertainty over Donald Trump’s tariffs.
Growth forecasts: Cut for 2025 from 2 per cent to 1 per cent. The OBR watchdog also estimated inflation will average 3.2 per cent this year
Welfare: Universal credit health element cut by 50 per cent and frozen for new claimants, building on cuts to the disability and incapacity bill set out earlier this month
Spending cuts: Overall day-to day-spending across government cut by £6.1bn in 2029-30
Tax evasion: Steps to crack down on tax evasion to raise “£6.5bn per year” for the public purse
Defence: New high-tech weaponry, upgrading HM Naval Base in Portsmouth
Housing: Housebuilding to reach its highest in 40 years, with planning reforms helping generate an extra £3.4bn for public finances
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
