The proposed offset agreement creates a tricky dilemma for Britain and the United States, two of the six countries that are in negotiations with Iran to persuade it to step back from a nuclear programme they suspect is developing atomic weapons.
(Reuters) – Oil major Royal Dutch/Shell is seeking to work around international sanctions by repaying a $1.4 billion oil debt to Iran with a grain barter deal via U.S. agribusiness giant Cargill, industry sources said.
Shell wants to repay a debt that is growing larger because of unpaid interest, having failed to settle its accounts with the National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC) ahead of a European Union embargo on oil imports that started on July 1.
It is hoping to get clearance from U.S., UK and Dutch authorities – who will be under pressure to agree on humanitarian grounds – for an “offset agreement” that would permit it to fund Cargill to deliver enough grain to Tehran to clear the debt.