Malaysia ready to discuss concerns over Iranian oil shipments with US

KUALA LUMPUR – Malaysia is ready to engage with the United States to understand the concerns it has raised over the role of Malaysian service providers in shipping sanctioned Iranian oil, Malaysia’s spokesperson said on Wednesday. his government.

A senior U.S. Treasury official said this week that the United States views Iran’s ability to move its oil as dependent on service providers based in Malaysia.

The official also said the United States was trying to prevent Malaysia from becoming a jurisdiction where the Palestinian militant group Hamas could both raise funds and then move money.

Malaysian government spokesperson Fahmi Fadzil said his country was ready to engage with its US counterparts to better understand its concerns and stressed it would comply with UN sanctions.

“We want to affirm that Malaysia, as a sovereign nation, is complying with the UN sanctions,” he told reporters.

“But when it comes to sanctions applied unilaterally, I think we have to evaluate that situation.”

Brian Nelson, Treasury undersecretary for terrorism and financial intelligence, and Neil MacBride, Treasury general counsel, are expected to visit Malaysia this week as part of efforts to crack down on funding for militant groups en route to ‘South East Asia.