The Syrian Petroleum Company announced that 299 oil-carrying trucks loaded with Iraqi fuel began entering Syrian territory late on Wednesday through the Al-Tanf border crossing, bound for its energy hub on the Mediterranean coast where the oil will be transferred to tankers.
The US and Israeli military campaign against Iran since late February has disrupted oil flow in the Strait of Hormuz, affecting about 20 percent of global oil shipments and disrupting international energy markets.
Safwan Sheikh Ahmad, the company’s director of corporate communications, said the initiative will help stabilize regional energy markets and enhance Syria’s role as a Mediterranean gateway for oil transport.
On Tuesday, the Al-Tanf and Al-Waleed border crossings between Syria and Iraq were reopened to enhance economic cooperation between the two countries.
Iran has allowed Philippine vessels, fuel and seafarers to safely pass through the Strait of Hormuz, Manila’s foreign ministry said on Thursday amid a global energy supply crisis sparked by the war in the Middle East.
The Philippines, which depends almost entirely on the Middle East for its crude oil imports, declared last month a state of national emergency over energy supply disruptions caused by the US-Israeli war on Iran.
As Manila has been working to ensure safe passage of Philippine-bound tankers through the key waterway, Tehran gave the Philippines its reassurance on Thursday during a phone call between Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and Philippine Foreign Affairs Secretary Theresa Lazaro.
“During the call, the Iranian Foreign Minister assured the Secretary that Iran will allow the safe, unhindered, and expeditious passage through the Strait of Hormuz of Philippine-flagged vessels, energy sources, and all Filipino seafarers,” the Department of Foreign Affairs said.
“Given that the Philippines imports the majority of its energy requirements from the Middle East, these assurances from Iran will greatly facilitate the steady delivery of critical oil and fertilizer supplies to the Philippines.”
With 51 days of fuel supply remaining as of March 31, the “positive development is vital for the Philippines” as it will “help ensure energy security for the country,” the department added.
Iran has allowed only select ships to pass through the Strait of Hormuz, including some from Malaysia, Pakistan and India.
“The Strait of Hormuz remains open to the world; however, it will always be closed to the enemies of the Iranian people and their bases in the region,” Ali Akbar Velayati, Iran’s former foreign minister and an adviser to the Iranian supreme leader, said on X.
The Philippines has a defense agreement for joint training and exercises with Washington, which grants the US access to nine military sites in the Southeast Asian country.
Philippine officials have said that the sites are not US military bases, and that the American presence there is not permanent but rotational.
“There are no American military bases in the Philippines,” National Security Council Assistant Director General Cornelio Valencia Jr. said last month.
“The sites referred to under the EDCA (Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement) are Philippine military bases that remain under the full ownership, control and management of the Armed Forces of the Philippines.”