Russia’s Lavrov to Talk Ukraine Grain Deal with UN Chief Next Week

Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov leaves after a meeting with Brazil's Foreign Minister Mauro Vieira in Brasilia, Brazil, April 17, 2023. (Reuters)
Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov leaves after a meeting with Brazil's Foreign Minister Mauro Vieira in Brasilia, Brazil, April 17, 2023. (Reuters)
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Russia’s Lavrov to Talk Ukraine Grain Deal with UN Chief Next Week

Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov leaves after a meeting with Brazil's Foreign Minister Mauro Vieira in Brasilia, Brazil, April 17, 2023. (Reuters)
Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov leaves after a meeting with Brazil's Foreign Minister Mauro Vieira in Brasilia, Brazil, April 17, 2023. (Reuters)

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov will discuss the Ukraine Black Sea grain export deal with UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres in New York next week, just weeks before the pact could expire unless Russian demands regarding its own exports are met.

Lavrov is due to chair two UN Security Council meetings as Russia holds the presidency of the 15-member body for April. Russian UN Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia said Lavrov and most of his delegation had received US visas to travel to New York.

He will also meet with Guterres, said Nebenzia. Russia has warned that the outlook for the deal allowing the safe wartime export of grain and fertilizer from Ukrainian Black Sea ports beyond May 18 is "not so great".

"Of course, he will be raising that during his bilateral (meeting with Guterres)," Nebenzia told reporters.

"Nothing is moving, efforts are being made but unfortunately they are fruitless for us," he said, referring to UN attempts to help facilitate Russia's own food and fertilizer exports despite broad Western sanctions imposed on Moscow over the invasion.

"So far, no optimistic news ... We clearly said we want to see progress," Nebenzia said.

The grain export deal was brokered by the United Nations and Türkiye in July last year to help tackle a global food crisis that UN officials said had been worsened by Russia's invasion of Ukraine, the deadliest war in Europe since World War Two.

It was extended in November and then last month Russia only agreed to renew the deal for at least 60 days, half the intended period. Moscow said it would only consider a further extension if several demands in relation to its own exports were met.

To help persuade Russia to allow Ukraine to resume Black Sea grain exports, a separate three-year pact was also struck in July in which the UN agreed to help Russia export food and fertilizer.



Cyber Group Disrupts Communication Networks of Iranian Oil Fleet

Indonesian vessel KN. Pulau Marore-322 patrols to inspect the Iranian-flagged Very Large Crude Carrier (VLCC), and the Cameroon-flagged MT S Tinos, as they were spotted conducting a ship-to-ship oil transfer without a permit near Indonesia's North Natuna Sea, Indonesia, July 7, 2023. (Reuters)
Indonesian vessel KN. Pulau Marore-322 patrols to inspect the Iranian-flagged Very Large Crude Carrier (VLCC), and the Cameroon-flagged MT S Tinos, as they were spotted conducting a ship-to-ship oil transfer without a permit near Indonesia's North Natuna Sea, Indonesia, July 7, 2023. (Reuters)
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Cyber Group Disrupts Communication Networks of Iranian Oil Fleet

Indonesian vessel KN. Pulau Marore-322 patrols to inspect the Iranian-flagged Very Large Crude Carrier (VLCC), and the Cameroon-flagged MT S Tinos, as they were spotted conducting a ship-to-ship oil transfer without a permit near Indonesia's North Natuna Sea, Indonesia, July 7, 2023. (Reuters)
Indonesian vessel KN. Pulau Marore-322 patrols to inspect the Iranian-flagged Very Large Crude Carrier (VLCC), and the Cameroon-flagged MT S Tinos, as they were spotted conducting a ship-to-ship oil transfer without a permit near Indonesia's North Natuna Sea, Indonesia, July 7, 2023. (Reuters)

A hacker group has disrupted the communication networks of ships belonging to two major Iranian shipping companies sanctioned by the US.

The group, called Lab Dookhtegan or “Read My Lips”, said it has disrupted the communication networks of 116 ships and therefore, severed the ships' connections to each other, their ports, and external communication channels, according to a report by Iran International.

The attack, the report said, was timed to coincide with US military operations against the Iran-backed Yemeni Houthis.

“As part of this operation, we targeted the communication network 50 ships belonging to the National Iranian Tanker Company (NITC) and 66 ships belonging to the Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines (IRISL),” the report added.

The ships belong to two major Iranian companies sanctioned by the US Department of the Treasury, the United Kingdom, and the European Union.

Iran's Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) have tightened their grip on the country's oil industry and control up to half the exports that generate most of Tehran's revenue and fund its proxies across the Middle East, according to Reuters.

All aspects of the oil business have come under the growing influence of the IRGC, from the shadow fleet of tankers that secretively ship sanctioned crude, to logistics and the front companies selling the oil, mostly to China, according to more than a dozen people interviewed by Reuters.

By disrupting ship communications, Lab Dookhtegan said on Tuesday it has significantly hindered operations, adding that full restoration of the affected systems could take weeks.

“Ship personnel can no longer communicate with one another, and their connection to the ports and outside world has been severed,” Iran International said.

US President Donald Trump's administration is considering a plan to stop and inspect Iranian oil tankers at sea under an international accord aimed at countering the spread of weapons of mass destruction, sources familiar with the matter told Reuters.

Trump has vowed to restore “maximum pressure” campaign to isolate Iran from the global economy and drive its oil exports to zero, in order to stop the country from obtaining a nuclear weapon.

Lab Dookhtegan said the attack coincided with its sixth anniversary and aims to demonstrate the scale and depth of its cooperation with individuals within the Iranian regime.

The group is known for previous cyber activities against Iran’s military and intelligence operations.

In July 2022, the group revealed the identity of IRGC-affiliated hackers who exploited European, Australian and US individuals and institutions in order to carry out ransomware activities.