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NITC is subject to Iran-related sanctions, John Sullivan, a spokesman for the Treasury, said in an e-mailed response to questions. "We are aggressively monitoring Iranian vessel issues and efforts by Iran to evade sanctions and international scrutiny," Sullivan wrote.
"All the activities of our oil ministry are based on international norms and rumors that are spread should not have a negative impact," Ramin Mehmanparast, a spokesman for the Iranian Foreign Ministry, said today in Tehran in response to questions about NITC vessels being reflagged.
A contact telephone number provided by the office of Hamid Behbahani, NITC's chairman, wasn't answered today and there was no opportunity to leave a message. Habib-ullah Seyedan, NITC's commercial director, was unavailable for comment, a person answering the phone in his office said. Neither Behbahani nor Seyedan responded to e-mails seeking comment today.
Data compiled from public sources show that of the 39 Iranian tankers originally registered in Cyprus and Malta, 21 were recently renamed or reflagged, said Mark Dubowitz, executive director at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies in Washington and a sanctions specialist who has advised the Obama administration.
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