For years the UK has put the lives of their citizens in jeopardy because of the lure of profits from financial dealings with the mullahs.
By Sophie Baron-AmirTeymour and Banafsheh Zand
Why has the government of the United Kingdom pursued a policy of appeasement towards the Islamic Regime of Iran – no matter which party was resident in Downing Street – over the past 47 years despite the multitude of attacks committed by the Islamic Regime against UK citizens and institutions? After Tehran fired a missile at the UK-US base on the Indian Ocean island of Diego Garcia, proving incidentally that the appeasers were wrong to state that Iran did not have the capacity to strike at Europe, one Iranian analyst produced a video offering an explanation – the UK has been earning money from dealings with the Islamic Regime.
Rhum Gas Field – The UK Earns Money Keeping Iran Sanctioned
During the 1970s, when under the Shah’s leadership the National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC) not only regained control of Iran’s oil resources (in 1973) but also began oil exploration in other parts of the world in partnership with other oil companies, NIOC began drilling in the North Sea with British Petroleum (BP). In 1977, they discovered the Rhum natural gas field and agreed to share ownership 50-50. For technical reasons, it was not profitable to actually begin producing gas until 2005. In 2010, when the European Union placed sanctions on Tehran due to the Islamic Regime’s nuclear program, gas production was suspended. Three years later, however, Parliament passed a law allowing BP to resume production with the 50 percent that is Iran’s share of the profits held in escrow – minus “management fees” and what BP considered what would have “Iran’s share of production costs.” By the time sanctions were removed in 2016, £26 million of Iranian funds were earning interest for UK banks, including the £1.1 million in management fees.
In 2018, sanctions were reimposed on Tehran and BP sold its half of the Rhum field to Serica Energy. Iran’s share of the earnings were reassigned to a Jersey trust supposedly not tied to Tehran – the Channel Islands are, incidentally, notorious hotspots of both tax evasion and money laundering – and by 2022, increased production and higher prices led to Rhum earning £1.2 million a day. Total data for earnings until 2026 are unavailable but the numbers indicate that the UK has earned quite a bit from Iran’s being controlled by an internationally rogue regime.
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