Iran likely to turn to Pakistani ports

Iran seeks alternative hubs as ships carrying petroleum face greater scrutiny at ports in the UAE.

LONDON/DUBAI: Ships carrying petroleum to Iran face greater scrutiny at ports in the United Arab Emirates as new western sanctions bite leaving the Islamic republic to seek alternative hubs, trade and shipping sources say.

Analysts said given the growing heat in the UAE, Iran could potentially use ports in Turkey or possibly Pakistan.

“It’s supposed to be Pakistan that is now emerging as the new hub. Pakistan and Iran have a particularly close relationship,” Theodore Karasik of the Dubai-based Institute for Near East and Gulf Military Analysis said.

A trade source said it was feasible that Iran could seek to import gasoline in trucks from Pakistan. “They will not export cargoes out of Karachi (port) but it could be transported overland,” the trade source said. “It has been done in the past for jet kerosene and other products over the border.”

Peter Pham, senior vice president with the National Committee on American Foreign Policy think tank, said Pakistan was unlikely to risk further US political ire.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 4^th, 2010.