DOHA, May 14 — Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said today there was “not one shred of evidence” of ship-to-ship transfers of sanctioned Iranian oil off Malaysia, amid Washington’s concern that Iran was using Malaysian service providers to move its oil.
A senior United States Treasury official said last week Washington saw Iran’s capacity to move its oil as being reliant on Malaysian providers.
The official said the United States was trying to prevent Malaysia from becoming a jurisdiction where Palestine’s Hamas could fundraise and move money.
Speaking at the Qatar Economic Forum, Anwar said Malaysia does not have the capacity to monitor ship-to-ship transfers in international waters.
Malaysia has long been a vocal supporter of the Palestinian cause and has advocated for a two-state solution to the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians.
Anwar during his trip met Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Qatar.
Anwar said while he maintains good relations with the political wing of Hamas, he has no involvement with its military operations.
“I have no involvement or discussions with the military apparatus (of Hamas),” he said at the forum.
— Reuters
