A Japanese mafia boss has pleaded guilty to conspiring to traffic uranium and plutonium from Myanmar to Iran along with drug trafficking and weapons offences. Takeshi Ebisawa, 60, a member of the yakuza, disclosed to an undercover agent for the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) that he had acquired a large quantity of thorium and uranium that he wished to sell.  He then offered to supply the agent with plutonium that would be even “better” and more “powerful” than uranium for making nuclear weapons.

‘;
document.write(write_html);
}

Back in November, the Biden administration received a written assurance from Iran that its leadership was not actively trying to assassinate President-elect Donald Trump. Tehran sent the assurance after the U.S. government charged an Afghan national in connection with an alleged Iranian plot to assassinate Donald Trump.

Iran’s oil exports have seen a strong rebound under the Biden administration with the U.S. and its allies hoping to strike a new nuclear deal with Tehran after the Trump administration scuttled the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) deal of 2015. Under former President Donald Trump, Iranian oil production tumbled from 3.8 million barrels per day in early 2018 to less than 2 mb/d in late 2020; in contrast, production has surged under Biden to 3.2 mb/d. China is Iran’s biggest customer, with Iranian crude accounting for 13% of its imports. However, China is likely to see its gravy train toppled after Trump returns to the White House for a second term.

Back in July,  Trump promised in his Republican National Convention speech to reduce Iranian oil exports. He said he had previously achieved this objective by linking it to trade; “I told China and other countries, if you buy from Iran, we will not let you do any business in this country and we will put tariffs on every product you do send in of 100% or more.”

By Alex Kimani for Oilprice.com

More Top Reads From Oilprice.com

• Chevron Targets $6-8 bln In Free Cash Flow Growth By 2026
• Trump Considers Executive Order to Protect Natural Gas Appliances
• Trudeau’s Exit Sparks Oil Industry Optimism in Canada