Iran Oil Minister Visits Key Oil Terminal amid Israel Strike Fears

Iranian Oil Minister Mohsen Paknejad (L) welcomes Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin (R) upon his arrival at the Mehrabad International Airport in Tehran, Iran, 30 September 2024. EPA/DMITRY ASTAKHOV
Iranian Oil Minister Mohsen Paknejad (L) welcomes Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin (R) upon his arrival at the Mehrabad International Airport in Tehran, Iran, 30 September 2024. EPA/DMITRY ASTAKHOV
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Iran Oil Minister Visits Key Oil Terminal amid Israel Strike Fears

Iranian Oil Minister Mohsen Paknejad (L) welcomes Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin (R) upon his arrival at the Mehrabad International Airport in Tehran, Iran, 30 September 2024. EPA/DMITRY ASTAKHOV
Iranian Oil Minister Mohsen Paknejad (L) welcomes Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin (R) upon his arrival at the Mehrabad International Airport in Tehran, Iran, 30 September 2024. EPA/DMITRY ASTAKHOV

Iran's Oil Minister Mohsen Paknejad landed on Kharg island, the oil ministry's news website Shana reported on Sunday, amid concerns that Israel could target Iran's largest oil terminal there.
An Israeli military spokesman said on Saturday that Israel would retaliate, following last week's missile attack by Tehran, "when the time is right."

Following Iran's attack, Axios cited Israeli officials as saying that Iran's oil facilities could be hit in response. US President Joe Biden said on Friday that he did not think Israel had yet concluded how to respond.

"Paknejad arrived this morning in order to visit the oil facilities and meet operational staff located on Kharg island," Shana reported, adding that the oil terminal there has the capacity to store 23 million barrels of crude.

China, which does not recognize US sanctions, is Tehran's main client and according to analysts imported 1.2 to 1.4 million barrels per day from Iran in the first half of 2024.



No Repeat of Jerusalem Incident Will Be Accepted, France Says

French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot poses for photographers overlooking the Old City of Jerusalem, including the Dome of the Rock Mosque in the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound, right, from the Mount of Olives during his visit to Jerusalem, Thursday, Nov. 7, 2024. (AP)
French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot poses for photographers overlooking the Old City of Jerusalem, including the Dome of the Rock Mosque in the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound, right, from the Mount of Olives during his visit to Jerusalem, Thursday, Nov. 7, 2024. (AP)
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No Repeat of Jerusalem Incident Will Be Accepted, France Says

French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot poses for photographers overlooking the Old City of Jerusalem, including the Dome of the Rock Mosque in the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound, right, from the Mount of Olives during his visit to Jerusalem, Thursday, Nov. 7, 2024. (AP)
French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot poses for photographers overlooking the Old City of Jerusalem, including the Dome of the Rock Mosque in the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound, right, from the Mount of Olives during his visit to Jerusalem, Thursday, Nov. 7, 2024. (AP)

A repeat of an incident in Jerusalem that saw armed Israeli security forces entering a property administered by France must never happen again, France's foreign minister said ahead of summoning Israel's envoy on Tuesday.

Two French security officials with diplomatic status were briefly detained on Nov. 7 after Jean-Noel Barrot was due to visit the compound of the Church of the Pater Noster on the Mount of Olives.

The site, one of four administered by France in Jerusalem, is under Paris' responsibility and it not the first time that problems have arisen over France's historic holdings in the Holy City.

"It is an opportunity for France to reiterate that it will not tolerate Israeli armed forces entering these areas, for which it (France) is responsible, for which it ensures protection," Barrot told France 24 television when asked what the ambassador would be told.

"And to strongly reaffirm that this incident must never happen again, meaning that Israeli forces enter armed and without authorization."

Israel's ambassador is due to meet Barrot's chief of staff at the foreign ministry on Tuesday.

Israel's foreign ministry has said that every visiting foreign leader is accompanied by its security personnel, a point that had been "clarified in advance in the preparatory dialogue with the French Embassy in Israel".

Diplomatic relations between France and Israel have worsened since President Emmanuel Macron called for an end to the supply to Israel of offensive weapons used in Gaza.

The French government also attempted to ban Israeli weapons' firms from exhibiting at a trade fair in Paris and has become increasingly uneasy over Israel's conduct in the wars in Gaza and Lebanon.