Iran issues indictment over seized Israeli-linked ship, judiciary says

According to Reuters, Maritime Mutual, based in Auckland, is alleged to have provided insurance to dozens of tankers that carried Iranian crude under false identities through ship-to-ship transfers and falsified records.

Police searched the company’s offices in Auckland and Christchurch on October 16 as part of a financial crime investigation into possible sanctions violations, the report said.

The insurer, run by British national Paul Rankin, is reported to have covered vessels belonging to Iran’s so-called “shadow fleet,” tankers that disguise their ownership and routes to move sanctioned cargo. Ships insured by Maritime Mutual have carried at least $18 billion worth of Iranian oil since 2018, Reuters said.

Documents reviewed by Reuters showed that vessels insured by the company often disabled tracking systems or sent fake coordinates, a tactic known as “spoofing,” to conceal their movements.

Maritime Mutual said it “categorically denies” breaching sanctions and keeps a “zero-tolerance policy” toward violations. It said it operates under “rigorous compliance standards designed to ensure full adherence to all applicable laws.”

Shiraz Marine connection in Iran

Reuters reported that Shiraz Marine, an Iranian shipping company, described itself as a representative of Maritime Mutual.

A letter posted on Shiraz Marine’s website, bearing what appeared to be Maritime Mutual’s logo and the signature of company founder Paul Rankin, said the Iranian firm could promote the insurer’s interests.

Shiraz Marine later referred to itself on social media as the “official representative of the New Zealand P&I Club (MMI) in Iran,” Reuters said.

Shiraz Marine did not respond to Reuters' questions about the matter.

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Maritime Mutual’s revenues rose sharply after US sanctions on Iran and Russia tightened.

Company filings showed average annual revenue growth of 41 percent from 2019 through 2024, reaching $108.5 million last year, up from $14.2 million in 2018.

Revenue growth peaked at 60 percent in 2023, the first full year after Western sanctions on Russian energy exports took effect, Reuters said.

Analysts told Reuters that the shadow fleet remains crucial to Tehran and Moscow’s ability to sell oil abroad despite sanctions.

Protection and indemnity coverage from insurers such as Maritime Mutual allows these ships to enter ports and conduct trade that might otherwise be blocked.

“Without that they’re dead in the water,” said David Tannenbaum, director of sanctions consultancy Blackstone Compliance Services, commenting on Reuters’ findings.

Iran and China oil ties

Tehran has long rejected Western sanctions as illegal and vowed to maintain its oil exports despite restrictions.

The investigation coincides with evidence of sustained Iranian oil flows to China. The Wall Street Journal reported earlier this month that Beijing funnels billions of dollars to Tehran through a covert payment system that swaps oil for infrastructure projects.

The report said around 90 percent of Iran’s oil exports now go to China, much of it transferred between ships at sea to obscure origin and destination.

Data cited by Iran International showed Iranian crude shipments to China rising to 1.68 million barrels per day in August, their highest level since before the Trump administration reimposed sanctions.

Earlier this month, the US Treasury announced sanctions on more than 50 individuals, entities, and vessels linked to Iran’s petroleum and liquefied gas exports, saying the move aimed to “degrade Iran’s cash flow” and disrupt funding for militant groups. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the action marked the fourth round of measures under President Donald Trump targeting China-based refiners that continue to buy Iranian oil.

The report is by Niloufar Hamedi, the journalist who — along with Elaheh Mohammadi — was jailed for covering the in-custody death of Mahsa Jina Amini, an act of reporting that helped ignite the Woman, Life, Freedom movement.

In her latest piece, They Rape You Once; You Die a Thousand Times, Hamedi gives voice to women who say that pursuing justice can be as punishing as the assault itself. Their accounts reveal a system that forces survivors to relive their trauma while offering little protection or empathy.

"Rape happens once, but its shrapnel pierces the survivor’s heart again and again," one woman, who remained anonymous for her safety, told Shargh.

For three years, she traveled nearly 900 kilometers from her hometown to Tehran to pursue her case, appearing repeatedly before lawyers, judges, and investigators.

The courts drag out the case, forcing survivors to recount their assaults again and again — a process that reopens their wounds and turns the pursuit of justice into another form of punishment, the women were quoted as saying in the article.

Another survivor, identified only as Sh, said: "The body’s natural defense tries to erase painful memories so you can move on — but in my case, I couldn’t erase anything. Each time I retold what happened, my whole body relived the trauma."

Death sentence for rapists

The newspaper report highlights a justice system that reopens wounds rather than healing them, and a penal code that offers only one punishment — death — leaving survivors with no other legal recourse.

"Many of us don’t want the perpetrator executed," one woman said, "but the law offers no other path."

Beyond the courts, the article explores a culture that blames victims and protects abusers.

Sociologist Mahsa Asadollahnejad told Shargh that humiliation is "the deepest wound" and that indifference allows it to spread.

Without naming officials, Hamedi’s report exposes a broader failure — laws that leave no space for mercy, a judiciary that retraumatizes, and a culture that silences.

Her restrained tone allows the women’s voices to speak for themselves, revealing the quiet persistence of systems that claim moral authority yet perpetuate harm.

In an interview with Iran's official news agency IRNA, Ryabkov asserted that the two neighbours had to stand “even closer” in the face of Western pressures.

"I don't believe we have any mistrust in our countries. I hope people who understand very difficult, challenging period which both of our countries are moving through," Ryabkove said.

"Russia is very prepared to do so in all areas, be it economy, be it finance, be practical cooperation on transportation, be it pacific use of nuclear energy."

The interview was conducted in Moscow at a time when in Tehran rival factions battle over Russia’s role in Iran's foreign policy and its alliance with the Islamic Republic.

Rift in Tehran

A short video widely circulated in Iran recently, in which former president Rouhani criticized UN sanctions from 2010 onward, noting that even Russia and China had supported them.

Rouhani's foreign minister, Mohammad Javad Zarif, also told a conference in Tehran that Russia did not want Iran to have normal relations with the rest of the world, yet did not wish for Iran to enter direct confrontation with other states either.

“I find it necessary to express my explicit criticism of the former president and foreign minister who, precisely as our strategic partnership with Russia is progressing, have damaged this path through their statements," Iran’s parliament speaker said on Sunday.

Ryabkov said Russia and Iran remain strong partners in the nuclear field and accused the United States and the European Union of using Tehran’s nuclear activities as a pretext for military threats and sanctions.

“This is to the detriment of international security and the overall prosperity of humankind,” Ryabkov said. “We strongly condemn this, and we stand hand in hand, shoulder to shoulder with Iran.”

Mounting pressure

Last month, UN sanctions were reimposed on Iran after France, Germany, and the United Kingdom triggered the so-called snapback mechanism, accusing Tehran of spurning diplomacy and nuclear inspections.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said the snapback provision — which allows for the rapid reimposition of UN sanctions if Iran breaches the agreement — was “largely Zarif’s creation” and a “legal trap” for Tehran.

Tehran maintains that UN Resolution 2231, which endorsed the 2015 nuclear deal, has expired, ending all restrictions against the country.

Iranian officials have repeatedly said the country’s nuclear rights remain intact, accusing the United States and Europe of breaching the accord, while asserting that Russia and China support its position against Western efforts to reimpose UN sanctions.

Iran and Russia signed a 20-year strategic cooperation agreement in January, endorsed by Presidents Vladimir Putin and Masoud Pezeshkian. The treaty covers cooperation in defense, energy, transportation, finance, and cultural exchange.

In its latest assessment, the Meir Amit Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center (ITIC) said the end of hostilities in Gaza will not significantly alter Tehran’s policy.

Iran remains committed to expanding its influence in the Palestinian territories, particularly through logistical and financial support to Hamas and other factions operating in both Gaza and the West Bank, the think tank affiliated with the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said.

“Tehran views Hamas’s continued presence in these areas as a potential avenue to rebuild its capabilities and preserve Iranian leverage, even amid mounting operational constraints,” the report said.

Since Hamas’s October 7, 2023 attack on Israel — in which about 1,200 Israelis were killed and more than 200 taken hostage and dragged into Gaza — Iran’s regional allies, including Hamas, Lebanon’s Hezbollah, and Yemen’s Houthis, have suffered major blows in fighting.

Still, the ITIC report says Iran is unlikely to alter its policy of supporting and sustaining proxy networks across the region, particularly the so-called “Axis of Resistance.”

“The Houthis are capitalizing on the Gaza ceasefire to enhance their weapons stockpile and offensive capabilities, further entrenching Iran’s influence in the Arabian Peninsula,” the report said.

Iranian officials have publicly supported the ceasefire but emphasized that the decision was made independently by Hamas.

Tehran declined to participate in the recent peace summit in Sharm al-Sheikh, Egypt, citing ongoing threats and sanctions against Iran.

Analysts believe Iran is far more comfortable operating in the shadows and through proxies, preferring to stay in the background and avoid direct conflict.

Majid Takht-Ravanchi said the message, delivered three months before the 12-day conflict, read “we should start negotiations, and if they fail, there will be war.”

Iran agreed to indirect negotiations, while Washington pushed for direct talks, Takht-Ravanchi said.

“The content of the letter and the attitude of US officials showed they believed with Trump’s return, the whole world needed him and he could dictate the terms,” he said, adding that Tehran decided to respond but only through indirect channels.

In June 2025, tensions between Israel and Iran erupted into open conflict when Israel launched coordinated airstrikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities, including Natanz and Isfahan, as well as several missile and command centers.

Several top Iranian military leaders, including IRGC commander-in-chief Hossein Salami and armed forces chief of staff Mohammad Bagheri, were killed in Israeli attacks

Citing an imminent threat from Tehran’s expanding nuclear program, Israel’s operation drew swift retaliation from Iran, which fired waves of missiles and drones at Israeli targets.

Within days, the United States joined the campaign, striking key Iranian nuclear and military sites in support of Israel. The fighting lasted nearly two weeks, leaving heavy damage.