A businessman sanctioned by the US for allegedly helping smuggle weapons on behalf of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) has business interests in a tanker that illicitly moved Iranian oil, an investigation by The National has found.
On Friday, the US Department of the Treasury blacklisted Iraqi-Iranian dual national Amir Dianat for his reported involvement in the regional smuggling efforts of the elite Quds Force of the IRGC, including “efforts aimed at the shipment of weapons including missiles”.
Mr Dianat's involvement in smuggling operations included efforts aimed at moving matiriel from Iran to Yemen, the department said in a statement.
The US also sanctioned Taif Mining Services LLC, saying that Mr Dianat used the Oman-based firm to procure an oil tanker and develop “additional illicit business opportunities to generate revenue” for the Quds Force.
Taif Mining Services acquired the Nautic Suezmax oil tanker in late October 2019, which was subsequently renamed to Gulf Sky, according to maritime records seen by The National.
The Dominican Republic-flagged vessel went on to transport Iranian crude oil, according to Samir Madani, the co-founder of the TankerTrackers.com service that monitors the Iranian petroleum trade.
Using satellite imagery, Mr Madani uncovered that the Gulf Sky pulled up alongside a domestic Iranian oil tanker from December 5 to 6 to conduct a ship-to-ship transfer of petroleum in Iran's territorial water.
The Gulf Sky's location transponder was turned off during the transfer, a common practice used by Iran-linked "ghost ships" to obscure their activities.
On December 7 the tanker came online again and sailed through the Strait of Hormuz to arrive at the Khor Fakkan anchorage off the coast of Sharjah before docking at the Fujairah anchorage on December 15.
Records reviewed by The National reveal that, while the Gulf Sky tanker ostensibly changed ownership weeks after its ship-to-ship transfer, this was yet another sleight-of-hand involving the vessel.
Taif Shipping Services, based in Oman, acquired the vessel in January 2020 from Mr Dianat’s Taif Mining Services, according to the UN’s International Maritime Organisation.
However, Omani government records show that Taif Mining Services on December 31, 2019 had changed its name to Taif Shipping Services.
Washington’s sanctions on Mr Dianat and his company are the latest in a slew of US Treasury Department attempts to stymie Iranian oil exports.
In September 2019, the US took sanctions action against what it called a “vast Iranian petroleum shipping network” that was allegedly moving oil from Iran to Syria at the behest of the IRGC’s Quds Force.
According to the US, “senior IRGC-QF official and former Iranian Minister of Petroleum Rostam Qasemi oversees this sprawling network, which features dozens of ship managers, vessels, and facilitators”.
In its latest press release, the US Treasury accused Mr Dianat of being an associate of Mr Qasemi, without elaborating further on their ties.
“The IRGC-QF has relied on Dianat to secure entry for vessels carrying IRGC-QF shipments and has used his business connections to facilitate logistics requirements. Dianat has been directly involved in IRGC-QF efforts to smuggle shipments from Iran to Yemen,” the US said.
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Transmission: Single-speed automatic
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Celta Vigo 2
Castro (45'), Aspas (82')
Barcelona 2
Dembele (36'), Alcacer (64')
Red card: Sergi Roberto (Barcelona)
ENGLAND WORLD CUP SQUAD
Eoin Morgan (captain), Moeen Ali, Jonny Bairstow, Jos Buttler (wicketkeeper), Tom Curran, Joe Denly, Alex Hales, Liam Plunkett, Adil Rashid, Joe Root, Jason Roy, Ben Stokes, David Willey, Chris Woakes, Mark Wood
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- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
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- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
ELIO
Starring: Yonas Kibreab, Zoe Saldana, Brad Garrett
Directors: Madeline Sharafian, Domee Shi, Adrian Molina
Rating: 4/5
Best Academy: Ajax and Benfica
Best Agent: Jorge Mendes
Best Club : Liverpool
Best Coach: Jurgen Klopp (Liverpool)
Best Goalkeeper: Alisson Becker
Best Men’s Player: Cristiano Ronaldo
Best Partnership of the Year Award by SportBusiness: Manchester City and SAP
Best Referee: Stephanie Frappart
Best Revelation Player: Joao Felix (Atletico Madrid and Portugal)
Best Sporting Director: Andrea Berta (Atletico Madrid)
Best Women's Player: Lucy Bronze
Best Young Arab Player: Achraf Hakimi
Kooora – Best Arab Club: Al Hilal (Saudi Arabia)
Kooora – Best Arab Player: Abderrazak Hamdallah (Al-Nassr FC, Saudi Arabia)
Player Career Award: Miralem Pjanic and Ryan Giggs
Armies of Sand
By Kenneth Pollack (Oxford University Press)
if you go
The flights
Air Astana flies direct from Dubai to Almaty from Dh2,440 per person return, and to Astana (via Almaty) from Dh2,930 return, both including taxes.
The hotels
Rooms at the Ritz-Carlton Almaty cost from Dh1,944 per night including taxes; and in Astana the new Ritz-Carlton Astana (www.marriott) costs from Dh1,325; alternatively, the new St Regis Astana costs from Dh1,458 per night including taxes.
When to visit
March-May and September-November
Visas
Citizens of many countries, including the UAE do not need a visa to enter Kazakhstan for up to 30 days. Contact the nearest Kazakhstan embassy or consulate.
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Tonight's Chat on The National
Tonight's Chat is a series of online conversations on The National. The series features a diverse range of celebrities, politicians and business leaders from around the Arab world.
Tonight’s Chat host Ricardo Karam is a renowned author and broadcaster who has previously interviewed Bill Gates, Carlos Ghosn, Andre Agassi and the late Zaha Hadid, among others.
Intellectually curious and thought-provoking, Tonight’s Chat moves the conversation forward.
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Joker: Folie a Deux
Starring: Joaquin Phoenix, Lady Gaga, Brendan Gleeson
Director: Todd Phillips
Rating: 2/5
WORLD CUP SEMI-FINALS
England v New Zealand
(Saturday, 12pm UAE)
Wales v South Africa
(Sunday, 12pm, UAE)
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
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Gothia Cup 2025
4,872 matches
1,942 teams
116 pitches
76 nations
26 UAE teams
15 Lebanese teams
2 Kuwaiti teams
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Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo
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Transmission: 8-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 9.1L/100km
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Anghami
Started: December 2011
Co-founders: Elie Habib, Eddy Maroun
Based: Beirut and Dubai
Sector: Entertainment
Size: 85 employees
Stage: Series C
Investors: MEVP, du, Mobily, MBC, Samena Capital
The specs
- Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
- Power: 640hp
- Torque: 760nm
- On sale: 2026
- Price: Not announced yet
Disclaimer
Director: Alfonso Cuaron
Stars: Cate Blanchett, Kevin Kline, Lesley Manville
Rating: 4/5
UK-EU trade at a glance
EU fishing vessels guaranteed access to UK waters for 12 years
Co-operation on security initiatives and procurement of defence products
Youth experience scheme to work, study or volunteer in UK and EU countries
Smoother border management with use of e-gates
Cutting red tape on import and export of food
