South Korea announced on Monday that it will resume oil imports from Iran in September.
The Associated Press reports that Iran will be providing both the ships and the insurance for the delivery of oil to South Korea. Two weeks ago, South Korean officials reported that they were engaged in talks with Iran to resume oil imports.

In July, EU sanctions on Iranian petroleum products began to include sanctions on insuring Iranian oil shipments. With the European insurance companies refusing to cover Iranian oil carriers, Iran has announced that it is prepared to provide its own insurance.

South Korea reduced oil imports from Iran by 44 percent between January and May of 2012 under pressure from the United States, which had warned that countries and companies dealing with Iran will become subject to U.S. punitive measures.

Although South Korea previously had announced that it had replaced Iranian oil with imports from Iraq, Kuwait, Qatar and UAE, its resumption of oil imports from Iran is seen as a blow to U.S. efforts to pressure Iran with its sanctions.

Source: Radio Zamaneh