Washington demands that Panama lower its flag from Iranian cargo ships

The United States called on Panama to lower its flag on Iranian cargo ships and oil tankers that “operate under the Panamanian flag to circumvent American and Western sanctions.”

Assistant US Special Envoy for Iran Abram Paley said during a visit to Panama yesterday, Wednesday: “Iran and parties linked to Iran are trying to evade sanctions. Here in Panama. They are trying to misuse the record of the Panama flag.”

He added that his visit to Panama aims to "coordinate our joint efforts with the Panamanian government to ensure that Panama's maritime shipping registry and its jurisdiction are not misused by entities trying to evade our sanctions imposed on Iran."

He added that at least 6 ships flying the Panama flag have violated US sanctions since last January.

For his part, Panamanian Deputy Foreign Minister Vladimir Franco wrote on the “X” platform that he met Bali for talks on “maritime cooperation” between the two countries.

According to official data, there are 8,540 ships registered in Panama and thus flying the flag of this country. These ships constitute 16% of the global fleet.

The United States suspects that Iran is using some of these ships to transport oil or petroleum products to finance groups loyal to it that Washington considers terrorist.